


Journey (Ready to Fly)

by my_flourish_and_blotts



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Autism Spectrum, F/F, Female Character of Color, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Original Autistic Character, Sanvers is the main ship, every chapter is named after a song, supercorp makes special appearances, this is so sweet that you can put it in your coffee instead of sugar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:49:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10089158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_flourish_and_blotts/pseuds/my_flourish_and_blotts
Summary: Everything was going great for Maggie and Alex. Their relationship was definitely making both of them the happiest they've ever been and Alex was excited to experience a whole bunch of new "Firsts". But when another pod hits the earth, everything changes. No one saw this coming. But they wouldn't have changed it for the world.Or: an addition to the Superfamily literally crash lands into their lives and turns them inside out. Even more "firsts" for Alex and Maggie to experience (and everyone else!).





	1. The Long And Winding Road

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own anything! Except for TACOS, actually I don't own tacos but I wish I did I'm kinda hungry right now... Anyways DON'T SUE ME, PLEASE.

Alex was pacing around the living room, frantically combing her hair with her fingers and talking in flash speed. Maggie was leaning against a wall, watching her girlfriend with a smirk on her lips and dark eyes.  
  
She had just seen the evening news and had been yelling about it since the moment she turned off the TV. And completely missed the look of pure lust that Maggie was sending her way. Let's just say that the tiny detective was not unaffected by her girlfriend at the moment. Her hair was a mess, her glasses were askew (yes, Agent Alex Badass Danvers had secret glasses that she wore at home sometimes and yes Detective Maggie Very Gay Sawyer turned into a hot mess every time she saw them) and her breath was raggedy from talking so fast and walking with no aim at the same time. That and the complete awestruck look in her eyes were really doing it for Maggie.  
  
"NASA discovered SEVEN new planets! And like... three of them are located in the habitable zone! It's like SO amazing! I can't wait to read all about it... Oh and Kara will _LOVE ___this oh my God this is just awesome I need to go online and get all the information I can get on TRAPPIST-1..."  
  
Maggie bit her lip. It sure was adorable to see her nerdy girlfriend geek out about space and she totally didn't mind hearing Alex talk about it for hours and hours but right now she had other things in her mind...  
  
Taking a break to catch her breath, Alex looked at her girlfriend and quickly caught her mood. The Agent raised one eyebrow. "You're not exactly thinking about space right now, are you?"  
  
"Not particularly, no." Answered Maggie, seductively taking one step closer to the other woman.  
  
"Care to tell me what's on your mind?" Asked Alex playfully, mirroring Maggie and stepping forward too.  
  
"Mmm, Maybe I can show you..."  
  
They both took another step towards each other and once they were close enough, Maggie pulled Alex by her shirt and their bodies were flushed together. Alex could feel the heat emanating from the small woman in front of her. All thoughts about space forgotten, she lowered her head and their lips met. The kiss started out slow and evolved to something sloppy, wet and passionate and Alex was about to break it to ask if they should move this someplace else (like the bedroom for example...) when Maggie pulled away, frowning.  
  
"Alex, are you okay?"  
  
Alex looked at her confused. "Of course, why?"  
  
"You're shaking."  
  
The taller woman was about to deny it when she felt it. Something was shaking, but it wasn't her. She heard jingling, looked up and saw the lights swinging slightly on top of their heads, casting dancing shadows around them. Soon it stopped.  
  
"Was this an earthquake?"  
  
"In _National City ___?"  
  
"Yeah, you're right it must be something alien related."  
  
"Anyways it doesn't concern us."  
  
"You do realise that both of us work in alien related jobs?"  
  
"We were not called in. And we have better things to do..." Alex pushed Maggie gently against the closest wall and started kissing and nipping at her neck "Now, where were we?" Alex sucked at Maggie's pulse point and the other woman's breath hitched and she grabbed Alex's hair.  
  
"We were... R-right there."  
  
Alex smirked against her neck and went to resume her activities but was interrupted by the ringing of two phones.  
  
Alex whimpered. "No. Whyyyyyy?"  
  
Maggie smiled softly and pulled away from her girlfriend. "It's not like you didn't see that coming."  
  
Maggie scoffed when she heard Alex murmuring under her breath that she had seen _other things_ coming and _that ___was not one of those things.  
  
She smiled when she saw the taller woman's big pout and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Rain check?"  
  
"You bet on it. I'm just gonna go kick this alien's ass and make it regret interrupting us and then we can go back to..." She gestured with her hand wildly, meaning 'what they were doing or about to do'. 

  


\- 

At the DEO Kara spotted her sister and ran toward her.  
  
"Did you hear it?!"  
  
"No, I just got here. What's the emergency?"  
  
"A pod hit the earth! That's what the whole shaking thing was! I thought it was an earthquake but you know... In _National City ___? Natural causes are rare here. Alien causes are more likely." Kara was bouncing with excitement.  
  
"Maggie said the same thing. But a pod? _Another ___one? Seriously?! What are we? Pit stop for pods? Crash lane?"  
  
The blonde stopped in her tracks and stared at Alex, who was huffing and wearing a gigantic pout. "What's got you all moody?"  
  
"I got interrupted." Alex mumbled.  
  
Kara opened her mouth and said a long " _oh ___".  
  
"Shut up." Alex bumped her shoulder into her sister's. Her own shoulder protested when it felt like it hit a wall, but she didn't mind.  
  
Alex walked into the main hall of the DEO and tapped impatiently at the back of Winn's chair.  
  
"Winn, can you hack into security cameras close to where the pod hit the earth?"  
  
Winn looked insulted. "Can I hack... Of course I can!"  
  
He started mumbling about how she shouldn't ask him that because she knew what a computer wizard he was and bla bla bla... She decided to ignore him. She just wanted to get this over with and go home, back to her girlfriend.  
  
After a short minute Winn announced that he had found something and pointed at his computer screen. The image was too dark to discern much. All they could see was a small figure dressed in white getting out of the pod and stumbling away.  
  
"Is that a small alien?  
  
"Can you find another angle, Agent Schott?" Asked J'onn, approaching the team.  
  
"Just a sec..." He typed really fast on the keyboard and then announced he found one from across the street and that he was gonna put it on the big screen.  
  
All of them started at the image of a security camera in a better angle than the other one and better lighting and were all left in shock.  
  
"Is that...?"  
  
"Must be a shapeshifter, there's no way that it could be..."  
  
Kara took a step forward, wide eyed. "It's a _child ___?"  
  
"We don't know that, Kara."  
  
"But it looks like a child." Pressed on Kara.  
  
" _I ___could look like I child if I wanted." Reminded J'onn.  
  
"Yes but like, the person just crash landed into a strange planet. I don't think their first thought would be to change their appearance to a child."  
  
"Kid must be so scared. Look at their face. It's so confused!" Said Kara, pointing at the image and biting her lip.  
  
"Well we don't know from what planet kid's from, so..."  
  
"He looks human. Like a human eight year old." Pointed Winn.  
  
"How do you know it's a he?" Asked Kara, looking closer at the image.  
  
"Well he's got short hair..."  
  
"Lots of girls have short hair." Pointed Alex from behind Winn in a low warning tone.  
  
Winn swallowed hard sensing danger and fidgeted on his chair. "Y-yeah! You are right! Totally right. Should we call the kid a "they" until we know their pronouns?"  
  
"Good idea." Answered Alex, dryly. 

  


-  
She felt confused. And cold. Very cold. She tried to find a warm place but all the could see was a gigantic church at the end of the street.  
  
She found a box with clothes for donation at the church's door and rumaged through it, finding relatively adequate sized sweats she put them on top of her thin white trousers, rolling the ending up a few times so she wouldn't trip. She didn't find any jackets of her size so she pulled on a gigantic hoodie that covered her down to under her knees. She found pink sneakers with pictures of fairies on them. Luckily they were Velcro, easy for her to put on.  
  
The kid was just about finishing to fix her new outfit when she was startled by a very loud sound of a thunder. She hurried out of the church, scared of the way the sound echoed inside of it, feeling sorry that she'd taken those clothes without asking but being glad about feeling warmer.  
  
Now she only wanted to feel a little safer. 

-  
Alex was sitting besides Winn, watching Kara and J'onn have a discussion.  
  
"I'm telling you Kara, when we find this individual, take backup just for precaution! What looks like a child could be a dangerous alien just pretending to look vulnerable."  
  
"It's just a little kid, J'onn! And besides I'm _Supergirl ___! We don't need more backup."  
  
"That fell out of the sky in a futuristic pod?" Asked J'onn ironically.  
  
"It's a child, J'onn! They must be so scared!" Kara put her hands on her mouth "And they'll be even more scared! There's a storm supposed to happen later today!"  
  
"We'll do everything we can to find them before that, don't worry." Alex got up and put a hand on Kara's shoulder, knowing that her sister was _not_ a fan of storms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a link in case you want to read more on the NASA news that Alex was gushing about.  
> https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-telescope-reveals-largest-batch-of-earth-size-habitable-zone-planets-around  
> If the child's characterisation feels "weird" to you, please wait until the next chapter to figure out why :)  
> Title from a Beatles song.


	2. A Hard Day's Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race to find the child that crashed on a pod in National City continues.

The chid had lost all sense of direction. She thought maybe it was better for her to go back to her pod and wait there for help or something but she had no idea from where she had come from so she just kept walking, and walking, and walking...  
  
She stumbled into a street that smelled strongly of alcohol and stale cigarettes. Some places had men around a TV watching a game and at others men and women shared tables, talking loudly and drinking. Mia scrunched her nose, the smell being a little too much for her to bear. She walked a little faster but slowed down when A bar's tv was loud enough for her to hear it.  
  
"The pod that knocked into earth causing an earthquake with its epicenter in National City seems to be from extra-terrestrial origin but government officials are yet to issue a press release to confirm it. Meanwhile the city is on wide alert and..."  
  
The girl felt someone looking at her and whipped her head to see a drunk man stumbling towards her. She felt wary and walked quickly away from the bar. As she walked, she felt something pounding her clothes and soon realised it was raining. The rain had started suddenly and had come heavily. Soon she was soaking wet, her clothes weighing heavily on her small body. Everytime a thunder boomed or a lightning flashed the kid flinched.  
  
She stopped by a closed electronics store. The TVs facing the street were showing the night's news. The sound was on but she could barely hear it over the storm but the subtitles were on.  
  
"An inside source told us that the pod that knocked into earth in the middle of last night contained a life form that is, as of now, M.I.A. The government is allegedly arranging for a joint task force between NCPD and other agencies to secure the life form and decide if it's a threat."  
  
The girl had stopped listening. She focused on the subtitles that were delayed from the audio. Her head turned sideways and she whispered to herself "Mmm... Iiihh... Ahhh... Mia."  
  
She smiled to herself and walked away again. She had walked a couple of blocks when her surroundings turned cleaner and fancier. She was in a rich neighbourhood. She sniffed the air and caught the scent of freshly baked bread mixed with the smell of rain. Her stomach grumbled and she followed the smell. She didn't even notice when she stepped on a muddy puddle. She didn't know when was the last time she had eaten.  
  
The source of the smell turned out to be a big fancy bakery. The child pushed the door of the bakery open and stepped inside. There were old people wearing fancy jumpers and some adults drinking coffee wearing suits or polo shirts and khaki trousers. All of them stared at her when she opened the door. The place was warm and much better and cosier than the freezing rain outside but she still felt chills that were probably caused because of the untrustworthy glances thrown her way.  
  
Looking around, she saw a lot a counter full of so many tasty looking things and she realised she was salivating.  
  
An older woman pulled a man to the side and whispered something to him. The man approached the kid.  
  
"I'm sorry but I'm going to have ask you to leave the premises. The clients are complaining about the mud you've brought to the place."  
  
The little girl looked behind her to see a trail of mud, water and dirt from where she entered the bakery. Then a woman brought a lot of freshly baked goodies to the counter and she took a step forward, unable to contain herself.  
  
The man made to grab her arm but when his fingers reached her soaking hoodie she shrieked and recoiled from his touch. Various clients stared at him, no longer looking disgusted of the child but wondering if the manager had done something to her. He seemed to realise that and started to say that he hadn't done anything and missed the kid running out of the store. 

  


 

\- 

Maggie and Alex had been texting back and forth about the case, both of them being called about the pod. The NCPD had been in charge of inspecting and cleaning the scene and the DEO had been called about locating the individual that had come inside the pod. Once they had discovered the individual seemed to be a child (and after a lot of persuasion) J'onn had approved a joint operation between both agencies so they could find them quicker. Except that that "joint operation" had been mostly about the DEO keeping the NCPD informed and by that it meant they sent all the paperwork to them. And Maggie had been very annoyed about that. But at least it gave her an excuse to call Alex.  
  
"We received a call about a man trying to grab a child in a fancy bakery and I thought this might help you."  
  
"Help me?"  
  
"Yeah, according to customers, some people had complained to the manager that a "homeless-looking child" was distressing them. They thought the kid was there to steal something or cause trouble but they didn't take anything they just walked around "in a daze", leaving muddy trails everywhere. I thought this might be the kid you were looking for, people said they looked about nine and it's started raining already so they'll be wet and muddy."  
  
"Is the kid still at the bakery?"  
  
"No. They ran away when the manager tried to grab their arm. That's why people called us. 'Cause they screamed or something and customers thought that was strange."  
  
"Well if I was nine and some man tried grabbing my arm I would've screamed too."  
  
"No, you wouldn't. You would kick his balls."  
  
Alex laughed. "Okay, fine. I would have kicked his balls."  
  
"Want me to send you security footage so Winn can have a look?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks babe." Alex thought a little, feeling bad about Maggie being left out of the action to deal with paper cuts. "Hey, wanna come help? I can get you clearance. Well actually I'm not even sure you would need it, you basically live here."  
  
She heard Maggie chuckling on the other end."Oh, yes. Thank you for saving me from all this boring paperwork. Be there in thirty."  
  
"Drive safe." 

\- 

 

She didn't know how far she had walked or for how long with the rain hammering on her body. She just wanted to get away from that bakery and from that man... She saw lights coming from around the corner and walked to find a 24 hours supermarket. There was basically no movement around the area so she felt safe enough to approach the place. She left her shoes at the door, close to the shopping carts so she wouldn't be kicked out. She walked in barefoot, trying her best to stop shivering and to not drip all over the place and wandered around the empty supermarket. There were some employees there but they were too busy trying to re-stack the shelves and move products around for when rush hour came in and none of them bothered her.  
  
Her stomach grumbled. She didn't recognise much of the things as food so she just kept walking around hoping to find something edible. Suddenly the speaker sounded loudly, calling for a particular employee and the child was startled. She bumped into a shelf and one of the boxes there fell with a rattling sound. Curious, she crouched down and pried open the box. Lots of colourful crunchy looking balls slipped into her hand and the floor. Maybe she shouldn't've opened it but the hunger spoke louder and she shoved those small crunchy things into her mouth and tentatively chewed. Releasing a small sound of pleasure of finding it to be edible and actually tasty, she frantically started stuffing her mouth with fistfuls of cereal. Some of them missed the goal and soon she was sitting on the floor around a sea of multicoloured crunchy balls. 

\- 

 

Daryl had been annoyed. He hated night shifts but he had to take them for some extra money. His brother had been talking about a new book for days and he knew that the boy wouldn't be able to let it go until he bought it for him.  
  
"Hey, Daryl! Do you mind organising the cereal isle? Mike said it was a mess there."  
  
"Sure." He headed over there but when he got close he heard a rattling sound and slowed down. When he got to the corner, he peeked into the isle.  
  
He was startled to find a child sitting on the floor surrounded by fruit loops frantically eating them. It could be just a homeless child stealing food from the supermarket in the middle of the night but Daryl had a feeling that wasn't all of it. The kid looked pale and unfed. Their clothes were soaking wet, dirty and too big for them.  
  
He thought about his brother and felt the unwavering need to help the kid. Quietly, he sneaked his hand into his pocket, picked up his phone and dialled.  
  
"911 what's your emergency?"  
  
-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a big chapter but I decided to break it into two and work a little more on the other half. That means that you will only have more clues as to why the child characterisation may seem "weird" but the actual answer will be next chapter, sorry about that but my eager ass couldn't wait to post this.  
> Special appearance: my favourite cereal.  
> Title from a Beatles song.


	3. With A Little Help From My Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey to find the child that crashed on a pod in National City ends but it uncovers a lot of new mysteries and a whole new type of journey for Maggie and Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey this monday there's no new Supergirl episode and I'm already missing my gays and my little flying puppy. This is a longer chapter because of that.  
> Possible content warning for implied past physical abuse (on original character). It's very vague, don't worry, but BE SAFE.

"We have the kid! Two minutes ago a Walmart worker called 911 to report a child had wandered to his workplace and is still there. He didn't startle them, just called the police. The guy thought they might've been starved because they were looking for food." Said Winn.  
  
"Did the child run away?" Asked Alex, anxious.  
  
"No, they're still there."  
  
"Okay, guys! We gotta move!" Yelled Alex to where Maggie and Kara were sitting having a chat. Both of them immediately got up and started getting ready. J'onn had reluctantly agreed to have just the three of them as a team to find the child.  
  


\- 

  


There was a young man wearing a Walmart blue jumper that stepped forward when they approached. He was twisting his hands nervously.

"Hi, I'm Daryl."

"Hi Daryl, did you call 911?" asked Kara as Supergirl.

Daryl stammered when he looked at the hero. "I did, but..."

"Where is the kid?" asked Alex.

"In the cereal isle, but..."

"Thank you, Daryl, please stay here with the rest of your co-workers and let us handle it." ordered Alex.

"Wait!" He shouted, "I don't think the kid's dangerous! I think they got autism."

"Why do you think that?" Asked Kara.

"Uh, my brother... I have a brother who's autistic. I just... I'm telling you 'cause I think the kid'll freak out if so many people corner them and yell at them and..." Daryl send a terrified glance to their guns.

"Thank you, Daryl." Alex nodded once at the boy and turned to her sister and her girlfriend. "So what do you guys think?"

"In any case I think Kara should approach the kid alone. She's basically a kid herself-"

"Hey!" Kara protested.

"-And children love her." Finished Maggie, smirking at Kara who stuck out her tongue at the Detective.

"Okay, that one is true."

"I'm not entirely sure she should go alone, I mean... It could be a dangerous shapeshifting alien!"

"You sound just like J'onn! it could just be a child, Alex. I'll be okay." said Kara, exasperated.

"I'll circle around the isle to make sure they don't run away." Said Maggie.

Alex nodded and decided to do the same thing but from the opposite side of Maggie's. They walked very slowly to avoid making any noise. Kara decided to just float.

When they got to the cereal isle, Alex looked at the scene in front of her. There were fruit loops everywhere. She carefully tried not to step on any of them. At first the kid didn't notice them, fully focused on feeding themselves, but Maggie accidentally stepped on one of the fruit loops and the child made a startled noise, got up and tried to back away so fast they slipped on the spilled fruit loops and fell on their bum, looking terrified. They looked to the other side of the isle to see if they could run but their eyes met Supergirl, floating. This time they screamed loudly and raised their arms as if trying to protect themselves from the colourful flying alien.

Kara looked shocked by seeing a kid scared of her. Usually they liked her. She stopped hovering and stepped on fruit loops, raising her hands as if to say that she wasn’t going to hurt the little kid. Alex started thinking quickly. She unstrapped her gun and threw it sideways, watching it slip and stop right by the Detective's combat boots. Maggie sent her a questioning look but didn't say anything, trusting whatever plan her girlfriend was concocting and stuffing her girlfriend's gun on the back of her jeans for safekeeping.

Alex stepped forward slowly. "Hey... We're not going to hurt you."

She noticed that they were shaking. She didn't know if it was because of the cold or the fear but maybe it was because of both of those things so Alex pointed at Supergirl. "I know that a flying blonde wearing a cape might look a little scary but she's actually very nice. She only hurts bad people. You're not bad, are you?"

The kid shook their head frantically. Alex nodded at them. "I believe you. I also know that you are scared. Do you know how I know that? She was too, you know. She's not from here and she crashed down just like you." Alex looked up at Kara asking for help. Her sister quickly understood.

"I was. Very scared. I didn't understand the world, you know... This world. Everything was so loud."

"Do you feel like that?" Asked Alex, hoping to distract the child that she had been taking small steps closer to them.

The kid nodded quickly, tears streaming down their cheeks.

"We just want to help you. Can we do that?" Asked Alex, softly when she was at touching distance of them.

And to everyone's surprise, but mostly Alex's, the child released a shaky breath, grabbed her shirt and snuggled her whole small body close to the Agent, as if trying to disappear in a safe place. Maggie had a warm look in her eyes like she was going to melt on the spot. Kara had to stifle an "awww".

Alex put her hands tentatively around the child and under their knees and lifted them up. The kid didn't protest, still keeping her face hidden on the woman's shirt.

The original plan was to just fly the kid to the DEO but the unexpected fear of Supergirl changed things and now they were on Maggie's police car. Just Maggie, Alex and the child because Kara had flown home to work on an article that had tomorrow as a deadline. She told them to keep her posted and call if they needed anything. The whole journey back to the DEO, Alex held the kid who didn't move at all. Sometimes the agent felt them shivering and wished she had something to warm them up. Maggie told her she couldn't stay right now because she had to go to the station to update the NCPD on the mission but that she would meet Alex later. The agent wished she could kiss the detective goodbye but she had an armful of wet child so that would have to wait.

When they entered the DEO, A male agent approached and made to take the child from Alex but she held the kid protectively. "I got it."

J'onn looked at the scene in front of him curiously but didn't comment. "I got the infirmary ready to take the child."

Alex nodded and walked slowly to avoid startling the kid. When they got to the infirmary the Agent hovered the kid over a mattress. "Hey, I'm gonna put you down on a bed, is that okay?"

They nodded into Alex's chest. The agent lowered the child carefully into the soft mattress. They didn't protest but one of their tiny hands was still clinging to Alex's shirt. Finally opening their eyes, the kid blinked fast, trying to get used to the DEO's bright light difference from Alex's black shirt. Alex was startled for a second when she looked into the child's eyes and saw one golden and one green eye looking back at her.

Alex recomposed herself, smiled and pointed at her chest. "My name is Alex. Can you tell me yours?"

The child frowned. They seemed to be trying to decide something. Then they smiled and pointed at themselves. "Mia."

"Your name is Mia?"

The kid nodded and were overcome by a huge shiver.

"Oh! Hold on a second, I'm gonna grab you a change of clothes, okay?"

The agent made to go to the door but the child grabbed Alex's shirt again, pulling. They looked around at the strange environment, suddenly scared. "Hey, hey! I'm gonna come back! It's okay, it's okay. I have to get you clothes because those are wet you might get sick. I'm gonna come back."

Alex basically ran to her locker and yanked the first thing she could find and ran back to the infirmary in under one minute. She gave Mia one of her own shirts she kept at the DEO locker, a black and white plaid shirt. No one had any shorts or trousers small enough to fit the kid so Alex sent one of the interns to buy one ASAP. Meanwhile the kid was still sitting on the bed with a lot of towels on her lap because they had taken off their soggy sweats and they were currently trying to put on Alex's shirt, having a little trouble with the buttons.

"Do you need help with that?"

Mia gave up on trying and looked up with a pleading look. Alex smiled and went to do the job herself but the shirt fell open and when Alex looked at Mia's torso she felt like a punch in her gut. It was covered in scars. From small scars to big ones. Burn marks and different coloured bruised were also displayed. Alex knew that they weren't from the crash of their pod. Some of those scars looked old.

"What... What are those? Can you tell me what happened?"

Mia looked down and, seemingly surprised of their own scars, shook their head. They raised one hand and played delicately with a string of Alex's hair, looking down as if to say sorry for not being able to give more information. The Agent felt her heart clench. "It's okay, Mia. You're safe now."

Alex gave them a water bottle and watched as they gulped it down, water flowing down their cheeks and onto the woman's shirt but Alex didn't mind.

20 minutes later the intern returned holding a large plastic bag. "I didn't find any clothes store open at this time so I went to TARGET and I got these." He handed her a pair of star wars sweats and a stormtrooper hoodie. He also handed her Yoda socks (complete with green ears and all), various types of Millennium Falcon undies and a Chewbacca beanie.

Alex raised an eyebrow at him, "Did you just pick everything out of the star wars session?"

The man shrugged but there was a growing redness taking over his face."They were in clearance..."

Alex rolled her eyes and dismissed him. When she went back to the infirmary and helped Mia to put on the new clothes she had to say that the child looked adorable as a walking star wars merch rack.

\- 

  


The kid didn't sleep the first night. They still had them stay at the infirmary to get hydrated. Someone had ordered soup and Alex watched as Mia wolfed it down furiously. After that, they walked around the room touching everything. The woman would always explain what things were for, mostly to distract herself from watching the child like a hawk, worrying they would touch something dangerous. That meant that Alex didn't sleep either. She had sent a text earlier to Maggie, explaining that she would stay and watch Mia. She asked if she wanted her to come over but Alex knew that Maggie was tired and just told her to get some rest. The Detective had agreed reluctantly.

When the sun came up J'onn moved Mia to a room with glass windows and ordered a lot of tests so they could figure out where the child had come from and what sort of alien they were. Alex ran all of them herself. She did try to get an intern to take some of Mia's blood at first but once the guy got close to the child with a needle they had started screaming and it had taken Alex nearly three hours to calm them down. Thinking about Mia's scars and bruises she felt her heart clench and decided that she would do all of the tests herself since the child already felt comfortable with her. Quickly they became a team of sorts. Mia would panic and start breathing really fast when they saw Alex holding a needle but they would still let the agent do what she needed. Alex would always try to distract them or hold them when they cried. That's how the second day went. Mia was so exhausted that they fell asleep while Alex was holding them, making soothing patterns on her back. Alex was also knackered but she felt like it was her duty to stay up.

She was not surprised to have her suspicions confirmed: Mia was 100% human. There was something strange going on with the kid's DNA but Alex would need more time to investigate. She didn't find anything more concerning than lack of vitamins and nutrients on her tests and healed or healing bruises on her scans. Nothing that a diet and proper care wouldn't fix. And she hoped Mia would get that.

Soon, Mia wouldn't let anyone get near them except for Alex. And the Agent had developed some sort of weird protectiveness toward the child and would also insist doing it all herself. J'onn had realised that and tried to talk Alex into letting another agent take over so she could rest but when she wouldn't bulge he decided to call for backup.

Detective Maggie Sawyer strode into the DEO 20 minutes later carrying a backpack and a determined look. She found the Agent on the loo taking a short break to wash her face, trying to keep herself awake while Mia was taking a nap. The other woman barely had time to be surprised about Maggie being there because she started talking."Alex, you need to sleep. You've been up more than 48 hours, you need some rest."

"I don't wanna leave the kid alone in there. When they wake up they'll be scared if I'm not..."

"Why don't you call another agent to be with them while we go to your apartment for a few hours?"

Alex immediately tensed. "I don't wanna send a stranger there with Mia, you know."

Maggie softened when she heard the protectiveness in her girlfriend's voice. "Well, why don't I stay with her? I've slept so I'm good to go. I assume you have a place here to take naps so just go there and I'll keep her company. How does that sound?"

The Agent released a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. "Great. You're great."

Maggie handed her the backpack. "I thought you might not want to leave so I brought you some snacks and a change of clothes. You texted me that you lent Mia your shirt so I thought you might need it. Also, your gun is in there."

Alex wanted to say how much it meant to her that someone listened to her, that someone cared and understood her but she was so tired that all she could do was place a soft kiss on Maggie's lips. When she looked back into the Detective's eyes she thought it didn't matter that she couldn't voice it because Maggie _knew __._

They walked back to Mia's room and Maggie saw them through the glass windows, napping with their mouth open, a little drool was pooling on the mattress. When Alex opened the door Mia quickly woke up and sat up, startled.

"Hey, Mia, sorry to wake you up. This is Maggie. She's gonna stay with you for a while." When it looked like the kid would start to panic she added quickly, "No, no! It's just a few hours. I just need to sleep a little bit, like you were doing, okay?"

Mia was tense but she looked at the dark shadows under the Agent's eyes and at the place where Alex's hand was touching Maggie's arm and she nodded shyly. Some unspoken agreement passed between the agent and the child that if she trusted this other woman so would Mia.

"I'll be back. Don't worry."

The kid looked down a little sadly and Alex almost changed her mind but she could feel that her muscles were tired and that her eyes were a little foggy. She did _need_ rest. She squeezed Maggie's arm in a thank you and left.

When she found the break room, she quickly changed into the clothes Maggie brought her and basically flung herself to a small bed in the corner. The moment her head hit the soft pillow she was out.  


\- 

  


Alex had no idea how long she had slept when she felt someone moving close to her and opened her sleepy eyes to find a very small and beautiful Detective sitting next to her in a chair, watching her sleep.  
  
"Mmmmm you're such a nice view to wake up to."  
  
Maggie smiled. "So are you. When you actually sleep next to me and not on a very small bed on your workplace."  
  
The agent hummed but she was suddenly reminded why she was sleeping at the DEO. "Wait! What are you doing here? Who's with Mia?"  
  
Alex got up so fast she felt dizzy. Maggie thrust a cereal bar on her hand. "Mia's fine. They're with a Doctor."  
  
The Detective stepped in front of Alex, fixed her shirt and ran a hand through messy short hair. "You drool when you sleep."  
  
Sensing that this was a nerdy reference more than an actual statement, she shoved a piece of the bar into her mouth and mumbled through a full mouth. "I _foo_ not _frool_!"  
  
Maggie pretended to clean herself of bits of food and they made their way down to Mia's room. They ran into J'onn who nodded hello at both women and then turned to Alex. "While you were asleep I called a social worker to come check on the kid. She's also a psychiatrist so I thought she might be able to make them talk. I think she might be almost done."  
  
The agent nodded but felt a little unsure. "How's Mia?"  
  
"Calmer. Didn't scream when the social worker arrived but it did take a bit of convincing for the kid to let Detective Sawyer go."  
  
Alex smiled fondly. "I know the feeling."  
  
J'onn smirked. Maggie blushed and shoved her shoulder playfully. A tall blonde woman dressed in a pink jumper got out of Mia's door and walked over to them. Assuming this would be the social worker, Alex turned to her, shook her hand and introduced herself. Her name was Amy Keen. Maggie did the same but excused herself quickly so she could go to Mia's room. Apparently Alex was no longer the only one who had grown fond of the child.  
  
"Did you manage to talk to the kid?" Asked J'onn.  
  
"Well... Not _talk_ really but we communicated. I showed her some pictures and asked easy questions. She answered by moving her head or by frowning. It's all she can do right now. She is in a state of shock."  
  
Alex took notice of the pronoun. "She?"  
  
"Oh, yes. I asked her if she preferred being called a "her", "him" or if she wished we kept using "them" and "they". She pointed at a figure of a girl I showed her and that was actually the only time she spoke."  
  
"What did she say?" Asked Alex curiously.  
  
"'Mia'. Apparently it's how she likes to be called." Answered Doctor Keen.  
  
The Agent nodded. "Yeah, that's the only thing she told us too. Could you figure out anything else?"  
  
"Not much, really. But Detective J'onzz told me that the Walmart worker thought she was autistic. The boy was right. She is on the Autism Spectrum." J'onn nodded at her.  
"Oh... Do you think she'll be able to talk?" Asked Alex, knowing that some autistic people were non-verbal.  
  
"She will. She has what it looks to me like Asperger's Syndrome and it's actually a "high functioning" autism. Right now she's in a state of shock like I said, so she's going to have non-verbal periods and of course she is not used to this world so it will take a lot of adjusting but once she comes out of shock she'll start behaving like any child her age. Of course there will be some autistic characteristics but with Asperger's it's less intense. She'll need help, surely."  
  
Alex nodded again, worryingly.  
  
"Is she really human? She looks so human to me." Asked the Doctor, curiously.  
  
"All the tests I've run confirm it. Mia's human." Answered J'onn.  
  
"What about her eyes?"  
  
"Oh, that's just heterochromia. She won the genetics lottery." Alex had always been a bit fascinated about the subject so she thought Mia's different eye colours were pretty amazing (after the initial startle).  
  
"I gave her the all clear yesterday. We've been keeping her here because... Well we didn't know where to send her. Are you here to find her a place to stay?" She shot a sideways look at J'onn who was unusually quiet and looking at the Doctor like he had read her mind and was curious to see what would happen next.  
  
"Well, actually I was thinking... Could she possibly stay with you, Agent Danvers?" The Doctor stammered, scanning the Agent for her reaction. J'onn was doing the same.  
  
"W-What? Stay with _me_?"  
  
"Yes. Until we find a more permanent housing. She trusts you. It's hard for them to trust people this fast and she is comfortable around you. You're uniquely prepared to protect her if anything happens and you have medical knowledge. If I'm right, you also took care of your adopted sister when you were just a kid."  
  
"I think it's a great idea, Agent Danvers. This way we also keep an eye on her." Said J'onn.  
  
"Oh. Yeah, yeah..." Alex thought about taking care of a child and she felt scared. But the social services agent was right: she had experience with that. She had taken care of Kara and was still trying to do that. Her whole career was about that. But she still felt a bit unsure. "Um... I Don't live alone, though. My girlfriend usually crashes at my home."  
  
She spoke so fast she didn't realise what she was saying until she had said it and she stood there in shock. She had just came out to a stranger in front of her. Looking quickly down to her shoes she mentally cursed herself. Maybe now she wouldn't want the kid to stay with her anymore. She could feel J'onn's eyes on her so she turned her head to Mia's room.  
  
Maggie was inside. She was giving Mia something colourful and square, a Rubik's cube. Alex looked at how the child tentatively put her hand forward to grab the toy, very slowly. She knew Maggie's arm must be cramping but the detective didn't lower it a centimetre. When the little girl finally grabbed it, she turned it on her hands, curiously. Alex caught Maggie smiling softly at the kid.  
  
"I think it'll be fine. She'll be in great hands with you and Detective Sawyer."  
  
Alex whipped her head back to the doctor, eyes wide. "How... How did you...?"  
  
" _Please_. I have eyes, Agent Danvers."  
  
J'onn scoffed and Alex blushed. "Oh, right, yes, that's true, I mean..." Alex babbling was interrupted by Maggie walking towards them.  
  
Doctor Keen smiled at her. "Well that's it really, I'm going to need you to sign some papers but that'll be all."  
  
"Ah, okay." Said Alex, unsure.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll do great." The woman left to fetch the paperwork. J'onn followed her.  
  
"What will you do great, Danvers?" Asked Maggie when she reached her side.  
  
Alex put her hands over her mouth, horrified."Oh no, I didn't even ask you!"  
  
Maggie looked at her, confused. "Ask me what?"  
  
"The social worker said I have a bond with Mia and she asked me if she could stay with me until she found a more permanent place for her, you know how she is a very unique case and all, and I said yes! I'm so sorry! It was just so fast! She asked me and then I said yes and... Oh my God, I should have asked you first! I mean you usually spend the night at my place... Of course I'll understand if you don't wanna stay there while... I mean, I want you to be there with me and to help me but It's okay if you don't want to and..."  
  
Maggie raised a hand to stop her babble.  
  
"Of course I want to help, Alex. Have you seen how adorable that kid is?"  
  
"Oh, thank god. I really didn't know if I could do this alone."  
  
"Of course you could, Alex. But the thing is that you don't have to. I'm here for you. Always."  
  
"You going soft on me, Sawyer?" Alex echoed Maggie's words.  
  
Maggie smiled Alex's favourite dimpled smile. "I guess I am, Danvers." She leaned on her tiptoes and kissed her cheek. "Let's go tell the kid she isn't gonna sleep in a glass cage today."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I do have some notes.
> 
> Most important of all is that all my Autism plot is taken from personal experience. I have Asperger's Syndrome. I will never assume to know how every person with Asperger's acts or feels so all of Mia's characterisation comes from my own experiences and how I feel and act. If you have any questions about it or you know... If you want to tell me about what you had for lunch or anything, send me an own at my blog http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com (I'm always there. Literally. I never leave. I have no life).
> 
>  
> 
> Also:  
> I kind of imagined Daryl as Spencer Reid from Criminal minds. I'm not sure why.
> 
> I picture the DEO's break room like the ones in Grey's Anatomy. 
> 
> The nerdy reference Maggie made with "You drool when you sleep." Is from Percy Jackson (Annabeth tells Percy that) because I fucking LOVE Percy Jackson. If you caught that please leave a comment to fill my self indulgence. 
> 
> Also I just have to say that every time I wrote "The Doctor" my inner whovian giggled. I am a huge nerd help my ass.
> 
> Oh and I forgot to say that english is not my first language! If you find any mistakes, kindly point them out and I'll fix them ASAP. Obrigada!
> 
> Title from a Beatles song, because apparently I'm on a roll (over beethooooooven! -please stop me-).


	4. Sound & Colour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mia's first moments at Alex's apartment with Alex and Maggie. Kara makes an appearance. We learn a little more about the kid that dropped out of the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "A new world hangs outside the window  
> Beautiful and strange  
> It must be I've fallen awake  
> I must be  
> Sound and color with me for my mind  
> And the ship shows me where to go when I needn't speak."
> 
> WARNING: fluff.

The ride to Alex's apartment had been quiet. The little girl hadn't said a word but looked curiously out of the window of the car while twiddling with the magic cube that Maggie had given her. The Detective was in the front, driving and Alex sat in the back with Mia. Once they got to her apartment, Alex guided Mia and Maggie took the key from Alex's pocket and opened the door. After they all got in and Maggie locked the door and handed the Agent's key back, the child stood frozen next to the door, absentmindedly turning the magic cube and looking around the place.  
  
"Hey, it's okay, Mia, this is my apartment. You're safe here."  
  
Mia nodded shyly. Alex turned to Maggie. "Why don't you give her one of the sweats you keep here? You're so tiny that it might be just her size."  
  
Maggie raised her hands to give Alex the finger but noticed Mia watching her closely and ended up just shaking her fists angrily at the taller woman. Then an adorable sound filled the apartment. Mia was laughing. Both Maggie and Alex were frozen shocked by the cuteness of the moment. Noticing that the little girl was embarrassed by having all the attention on herself, Maggie stepped forward and pushed Alex's shoulder.  
  
"I'm not tiny!"  
  
They continued their little playful banter for a few minutes because Mia seemed more comfortable when the attention wasn't all on her. After a while they decided to lend the kid one of Alex's old shirts to wear after cleaning up. The Agent asked Mia if she wanted her to stay on the bathroom while she showered but Mia shook her head. Alex didn't want her to feel uncomfortable so she lowered the shower utensils to the floor so Mia could reach, turned the shower on and said she would be just outside the door and to shout if she needed anything.  
  
The Agent sat with her legs crossed next to the bathroom door. Maggie sat in front of her and both of them stood guard, paying attention to any signs that Mia needed help. Alex's mind started wandering to dark thoughts like Mia's bruises and what, or _who _, could have caused them so she tried to distract herself. "Where did you find that Rubik's cube? Did you ask one of your cop buddies to steal from their kid?"__  
  
"It's mine, actually. Had it since I was a kid. My aunt gave it to me." She had a carefully guarded expression and Alex wanted to ask more about it but she knew that if Maggie wanted to tell her she would so she just nodded.  
  
A few minutes later the bathroom door opened and Mia padded into the living room on her Yoda socks and wearing Alex's old grey NASA shirt. It was so big on the child that it looked like a dress.  
  
Alex texted Kara asking if she could bring some clothes for the kid tomorrow morning. She suspected that her sister would have lots of fun picking children's clothes.  
  
The shower seemed to have calmed Mia down and also made her rather sleepy. When she yawned both women decided it was bed time. Having no guest rooms in her apartment, Alex picked up some pillows and comforters and made a bed on the couch the best she could. Mia understood that that was for her and she made herself comfortable. The kid looked even smaller under all those comforters.  
  
Mia looked up and smiled and Alex noticed that she had adorable dimples. Now there were two people with Dimple Power on that apartment. And that's because Kara wasn't even there. Alex didn't know if she could take it. 

____

  


-

  
When Alex woke up the next morning she thought she'd imagined the whole thing. A child falling out of the sky? Her taking care of the child? It sounded so surreal. Maybe she'd just had a long night with her girlfriend and her tired brain decided to make up a wild dream to confuse her when she woke up. But when she groggily opened her eyes and scooted closer to Maggie she realised that she was still sound asleep and _wearing clothes _.__  
  
She slowly, carefully disentangled herself from the other woman and tiptoed to the bathroom. Next to her and Maggie's toothbrushes was a smaller, Pooh-themed one.  
  
If those signs were not enough to tip her that yesterday (and the couple of days before) had really happened, the sleeping child on her sofa was a big wake up call. Mia's left thumb was close to her mouth and her right arm was holding a pillow like a stuffed animal.  
  
Alex assessed that both her girlfriend and the child were still gonna take a while to wake up so she got ready for her morning run quietly, put on her earphones and slipped out. She felt her to feet hit the ground and carry her further and further to the soft enjoyable beat of Alabama Shakes.  
  
When she got back home, Alex saw that she was right: both were still asleep. She took a quick shower and got into making coffee. That's when the Agent realised there was nothing she could offer Mia as a breakfast.  
  
Alex texted Kara, begging for a box of donuts and warned her sister to use the door and not the balcony this time when she brought the clothes for the kid.  
  
When the coffee was done she filled her mug, sat down on a stool and sipped it slowly, trying not to burn her tongue. In the corner of her eye she noticed Mia stirring and sitting up in the couch, accidentally dropping at least three pillows in the process.  
  
For a second the child didn't seem to remember where she was and looked about to panic when she noticed Alex drinking from a mug and instantly calmed down.  
  
"Oh, hey! Look who's up!" Greeted Alex.  
  
Mia smiled sleepily at her.  
  
Alex put the mug down, took the kid to the bathroom and helped her brush her teeth. Mia was too short to reach the sink so she had to hold her up on her knee. She made a mental note to get a stool.  
  
When they were done (Alex coming out with a little more toothpaste on her shirt than she'd gone in with) she tried combing the child's hair but it was having none of it. It didn't matter what the Agent did it still poked wildly in every direction. Mia didn't seem to mind so she gave up, putting on some cartoons for the kid to watch while her sister didn't arrive with edible food.  
  
Alex went back to sit on her stool in the kitchen, nursing her now lukewarm coffee and looking at Mia in the daylight. Her hair had looked brown the other days but Alex noticed that it had an orange glow to it. The Agent briefly wondered if it had been bright orange when she was a baby but her thoughts were interrupted by Kara opening the door and squealing when she saw the very adorable child. Mia jumped out of the couch like a startled kitten and ran to hide behind the kitchen counter.  
  
"Mia? This is my sister, Kara. You can come out from behind the counter if you want, she won't hurt you."  
  
The child emerged slowly and peeked. A tall smiling blonde waved enthusiastically and pointed at a box of donuts like it was a peace treat and apparently Mia assessed that that dork wasn't a danger to her.  
  
The commotion woke Maggie up, who stretched and quickly brushed her teeth so she could join them in the living room. Alex promptly started to reheat the coffee while Kara tried to show Mia that she was nice by watching cartoons with her. The blonde seemed more interested than the kid, who was fascinated by Kara's perfect braided hair, staring at it while happily eating a glazed donut.  
  
Once the coffee was ready, Alex gave Maggie her mug with a kiss on the cheek and sat down next to them on the couch letting her arm rest behind her girlfriend's head.  
  
"I asked my sister to get you some clothes. I did not ask her to buy an entire store but it seems that's what she did." Said Alex, pointing at the various plastic bags resting at the foot of the sofa.  
  
"They were just sooooo cute! I couldn't resist. By the way, I got a lot of styles and colours. I got it from the "girls" and "boys" isles because you know, clothes have no gender. But you can choose what you like, of course."  
  
Mia looked at the blonde confused.  
  
"That means you can wear whatever you want, Mia." Cleared Alex. Maggie nodded next to her, sipping her coffee. Mia smiled at them.  
  
"Oh and I also got you new sneakers!" Kara took out green converse shoes and put them in front of Mia who looked incredibly excited by the choice of colour, pointing at her right eye. She immediately tried to put them on but when she looked at the shoelaces she frowned.  
  
"You don't know how to tie them?" asked the Detective.  
  
Mia shook her head looking glum.  
  
"It's okay... I am gonna tell you a story, though." Maggie knelt down in front of Mia in one knee and put the girl's little feet in the other. "Once there was a rabbit that was very sad because his ears were so long and narrow that he stepped on them all the time." Maggie pulled each string and showed them to Mia while making a pouty face. "One day a fairy landed on the bunny’s head. She lifted up the bunny’s ears and crossed them over like an x. Then she put one ear through the bottom of the x and pulled. Next, she made each long ear into a loop and made another x like before. She put an ear under that x and pulled again. From then on the bunny remembered how to tie his ears into a bow, and he lived happily every after." Maggie ended the story by planting a little kiss on top of Mia's little head which earned her a little giggle. The kid wiggled her feet and all of them stared at her tiny little new shoes.  
  
"Obrigada."  
  
All of them were so shocked that she had spoken that they didn't assimilate what she'd said but even when their brains caught up they realised that they still hadn't understood it. Before they could even formulate a question, Mia had grabbed a few of the clothes Kara had brought and ran to the bathroom. They were left staring at each other, dumbstruck.  
  
"Was that English?" Asked Kara, confused.  
  
"I don't think so." Said Maggie.  
  
"Was it Spanish?" Questioned Alex.  
  
"No." Answered Maggie. "Okay, hold on a second..."  
  
The Detective quickly whipped out her phone and twinkled around with it for a few seconds before she got it close to her mouth and mumbled an attempt of repeating what Mia had said. She stared at the screen for a little while.  
  
"It means ' _thank you _' in Portuguese."__  
  
"So she's Portuguese?"  
  
"Mmm, I think she actually spoke _Brazilian _Portuguese."__  
  
They heard the bathroom's door opening and Maggie quickly shoved her phone back in her jeans. She had a feeling Mia was not ready to actually talk just yet and that had been a slip. The other two women seemed to understand that too and didn't mention it.  
  
They spend a few hours eating donuts and watching Mia try the clothes. She picked them up, went to the bathroom and walked out to show them to the ladies, who wowed and snapped some pictures while yelling out some compliments. Kara was clearly the most enthusiastic one because she wanted them to know that she had excellent taste in kid clothes and that she'd picked out the best ones. She may not have noticed that her enthusiasm made her eat almost all the rest of the donuts but everyone else did.  
  
In the end Mia kept all the clothes Kara had brought except the dresses and some extremely bright pink shirts. There was one last box to open.  
  
Mia made herself comfortable on the floor. She was laying belly down on the rug and poking what looked like a gift box.  
  
"That's for you! You can open it." Said Kara, excited.  
  
Mia looked at Alex, questioning. The agent nodded at the child and she started tearing the wrapper tentatively at first and then apparently she decided she loved unwrapping presents and soon Mia was just tearing the wrapping paper into tiny little pieces with a huge smile on her lips. Kara couldn't help take a quick picture of the scene on her phone.  
  
"Well if I knew she liked tearing things apart I would have just gotten her boxes and wrapped them."  
  
When Mia didn't have any more paper to tear apart, she finally got to what was inside the box. It was a Supergirl doll. Both Alex and Maggie looked at Kara knowingly. Mia gently combed the doll's hair with her little fingers.  
  
"So does that mean that you're not scared of m-her anymore?"  
  
As an answer, Mia hugged the toy. Kara looked like she was going to explode from too much cute. Then Mia surprised everyone by getting up, leaning over Kara on the couch and placing a kiss on her cheek. She opened her mouth to say something but she didn't seem to be comfortable enough now. Kara got it, though. She ruffled the kid's hair. "You're welcome."  
  
Suddenly, Kara's "Supergirl Alarm" went off and she immediately stood up.  
  
"Oh, seems like I have to go." Kara started heading towards the balcony.  
  
"Kara." Called Alex.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"The door is that way." pointed Alex, thinking about not scaring Mia again and keeping Kara's secret identity safe.  
  
"Oh! Right, yeah, yeah, the door. Of course I was looking for the door! Well, bye then!"  
  
Alex pinched her nose and Maggie stifled a laugh. Mia looked thoroughly puzzled. Kara left quickly with one last "bye guys"  
  
The rest of the morning consisted on Mia walking around and exploring every inch of Alex's apartment while the women did some house chores while casually talking about their latest cases on the DEO and NCPD and keeping an eye on the kid. A little after one pm they got hungry and decided to walk to a Subway close by for lunch. They found out a couple of things there, including that Mia was a fan of olives and that her new favourite thing in the world seemed to be apple juice.  
  
They went back to Alex's place but with a promise of going for ice cream later. Mia didn't seem to recognise the word but she still looked very excited.

_____ _

____

____

__

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from an Alabama Shakes song.
> 
> I got the story to help children tie their shoes from here: http://www.famlii.com/rhyme-teach-child-how-to-tie-shoes/ .
> 
> Apple juice is really not common in Brazil so Mia's reaction to it was the same as mine: I HAVE FOUND THE HOLY GRAIL.
> 
> And yeah I do love olives. Sue me. Athena can back me up.
> 
> English is my second language so if you found a mistake or a typo tell me and I'll fix it ASAP.
> 
> If you have any questions, comments or just wanna tell me about a cute puppy that you saw today you can reach me at my blog( my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com) . I'm literally always there. I don't sleep. I don't eat. Okay fine I eat... Mum's brought donuts, so...


	5. White Privilege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mia's first day with Maggie and Alex ends up really sweet but with a taste of bitter. Lots of fluff with a itty bitty of angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace  
> No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free"
> 
> This chapter needs content warning for racism (stereotyping) and cursing. Be safe.

When the sun was setting and the rest of the house chores were done, they all took showers and Maggie helped Mia put on her new long sleeved shirt that said ' _Girls are the future _' and comfortable jeans that had butterflies patched on them (Maggie also took a hoodie with her, in case Mia got cold). The kid tried her best to tie her shoes remembering the story that the Detective had told her but she ended up accidentally making a giant knot that took Alex 20 minutes to undo while Maggie reassured Mia that it was okay and that it would take some time to master that new skill.__  
  
Once they were all ready, Alex drove them to a new ice cream shop that had opened nearby and Maggie sat in the back with Mia, distracting the kid by pointing places and explaining what they were.  
  
The ice cream shop ended up being a very cosy, quiet and adorable place and Mia instantly loved it. She seemed particularly interested on a wall that depicted the history of ice cream under the name of the shop, _Inverno's _.__  
  
When the kid finished scanning the curious wall she turned her attention to the various types of ice cream on the counter while Maggie and Alex greeted the lady behind it.  
  
"Hi! How can I help you today?"  
  
"Hello! Uh, I think we're gonna have a cone each." Said Alex, looking at Maggie questioningly and watching her nod.  
  
"Okay! Have you picked a flavour?"  
  
"Do you have any that are vegan?" Asked Maggie, hopeful.  
  
"Only vanilla and chocolate."  
  
"Chocolate it is." Decided the Detective, licking her lips.  
  
Alex settled for the chocolate chip cookies.  
  
"How about you, kid, which one do you want?"  
  
Mia had to tip toe just to be able to check out what was in the display, but she had been staring the arrange of various creamy-looking desserts that she'd never seen nor eaten, fascinated by all the bright colours. The kid pointed at the mint-and-chocolate-chips ice cream and then back to her right eye.  
  
"Ohh you want the green one. Okay! Good choice, Mia."  
  
The lady handed Mia her cone and she picked it up carefully then raised it to Alex and Maggie look at the green ball of cold dessert triumphantly.  
  
"It looks great. You might want to lick it instead of biting, though. Some people have pretty sensitive teeth."  
  
Mia gave it a tentative lick and froze. Alex thought she might have disliked the flavour and was about to offer to buy her another one when Mia dove in enthusiastically. Soon her whole face was covered in green ice cream and she was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
Alex smiled fondly. "I remember the first time Kara had ice cream. She ate the whole pint. There was just no stopping her."  
  
"Well, I don't think there's any way of keeping your sister away from a pint of ice cream even now."  
  
They giggled and Maggie offered her spoon to Alex, watching the taller woman automatically lean forward. It was just after she had already swallowed it that she realised that it had been vegan chocolate ice cream. She made a face at Maggie.  
  
"C'mon, Danvers. You gotta admit that vegan ice cream is pretty good."  
  
"No, it's not. _Gross _."__  
  
The Detective rolled her eyes but she got distracted because next to her, Mia was going through her first brain-freeze. Her face was so scrunched up and twisted that Maggie couldn't help herself and soon she was cracking up. Alex started giggling because of Maggie's laugh and Mia, recuperated of her temporarily frozen brain, laughed because of the two women's laughs. Around them the other customers were shooting them judgemental looks or side eyes but they couldn't care less.  
  
Once they were finished having ice cream and annoying other people by having pure unadulterated fun, they went back outside. Maggie noticed the kid shiver.  
  
"You cold?"  
  
Mia nodded.  
  
"That's because of the ice cream. C'mere, lemme put on your hoodie."  
  
Putting hoodies, or any sort of clothes by that matter, on a child is actually a really hard task. Maggie blessed Mia, though. She tried to help but it was still difficult and the result was that now she stood there wiggling her hands, trapped in a GAP hoodie. Alex came over to help and they managed to get Mia's head out of the right hole in the hoodie (after a few attempts). Mia didn't bother to lower the hood, enjoying the extra warm around her ears.  
  
"We gotta stop at a groceries' store on our way back to restock your kitchen." Said Maggie after she had helped the child put on her seat belt.  
  
"What? My kitchen is fine!"  
  
"Your kitchen has alcohol and leftover pizza that I'm not even sure it's still edible. Not exactly suited things for children. Or you know... a healthy human being..."  
  
"Hey! Don't dish the kitchen! You love the kitchen!"  
  
"I do. It's a very nice kitchen. But it does need restocking, babe."  
  
Alex smiles and blushed slightly at the use of the pet name and gave in. "Fine."  
  


_____ _

____

____

\- 

  
  
They drove to a nearby grocery store and Maggie started to tell Alex things they should buy to stock the kitchen. There was a bell on the door, announcing when people got in and out so the women let the child check out the store, keeping an ear out just in case she walked out.  
  
Mia wandered around the isles, curiously checking out boxes of food or other things. She took a special interest in a box with different coloured small fish depicted on it. She shook the box and head it rattling.  
  
"Hey! Where are your parents, little brat? Or are you just here to steal things?"  
  
Startled by the man's harsh tone, Mia dropped the bag of _goldfish _. It was probably the angry manner that he displayed, so different from the kind and soft voices that Maggie, Alex and the DEO personnel had used with her so far that made her start crying.__  
  
It took just one low sob for it to work like loud alarm bells and both women were next to the kid in less than a second.  
  
"Hey! What's your problem?" Yelled Alex.  
  
"Is this your child?"  
  
Acting on instinct, Maggie scooped Mia up and held her. Before she could even think that she should've asked first before picking her up, the kid had hidden her face on the crook of the woman's neck and she felt tears prickling her skin.  
  
"Sorry, ma'am, didn't know the kid was with you. Thought he was stealing something" , he said addressing Alex and completely ignoring Maggie and the crying child.  
  
" _She _wasn't stealing anything."__  
  
The man shook his head. "There was no way for me to know that for sure, ma'am. One can never be too careful these days."  
  
He started walking away and it looked like Alex still wanted to say something but Maggie said "Let's just go."  
  
The Detective carried Mia out to the car and put her on the back seat but took a few steps back and huffed angrily. Alex stepped forward and while she was strapping Mia in gently, she heard Maggie say " _racist piece of shit _" under her breath and her eyebrows knit together.__  
  
"He was racist? I thought he was just a general douchebag." asked Alex after she'd closed the backseat door.  
  
Maggie took a deep breath. "Brown kid getting inside a fancy market wearing a pulled up hoodie?"  
  
For a second Alex processed her thoughts and her face went from confused to murderous. She took a step back to the store but Maggie grabbed her hand gently. "It's not worth it."  
  
"Trust me, it'll be worth it when my first connects with his face." Said Alex, cracking her knuckles.  
  
"For Mia. It's not worth it for her to see this right now."  
  
Alex looked at the kid, who was playing with the seat belt, still sniffing and wiping her tears. She looked so small and vulnerable. Alex knew that one day she would have to know what racism was because, sadly, that was just the way the world worked but... Maybe not right now. Maybe she could stay innocent a while longer.  
  
"Yeah. You're right. Let's just go to another store."  
  
They drove in silence, all deep in thought. When they found a small grocery store and decided to check it out. Mia didn't wander around this time. She actually grabbed Maggie's hand and didn't let go the entire time. The Detective didn't mind, holding the tiny hand firmly in her own. The kid was quieter, keeping her gaze down and didn't seem interested on picking anything so Alex stepped up and chose a few assorted candies, popcorn and some Pringles. Maggie guided Mia to the refrigerators and grabbed a six pack of beer and a big box of apple juice.  
  
"I got it, honey." Seeing that Mia looked even sadder for not being able to help she quickly scanned the surrounding shelves, noticing that they had wandered to the small party section of the store "But why don't you grab some napkins over there? You can even pick the colour."  
  
Mia perked up and ran to the shelf. Once they reunited with Alex at the cash register, she looked curiously at the small girl carrying a pack of green napkins proudly and at the fond expression on Maggie's face and didn't even question it.  
  
After putting the recently bought groceries on the truck, Alex leaned down to adjust Mia's seatbelt.  
  
"I'm sorry about what happened at the other store, Mia. That was a bad man. Don't think too much about that, okay?"  
  
The kid scanned the Agent's eyes and nodded solemnly as if Alex had just instructed her on a mission.  
  
The Agent smoothed some crinkles on the kid's hoodie. "I hope you still had fun eating ice cream, though."  
  
Mia put both her hands on Alex's cheeks and smiled. It wasn't a toothy smile or a particularly happy one. It seemed more like a thankful gesture.  
  
"Okay. We're going home now, it's getting late."  
  
Mia nodded off in the car on the way back to Alex's apartment and was still asleep when they got there so Maggie carefully picked her up and carried her upstairs, laying her down gently on the sofa and tucking her in.  
  
"You should've let me help with Mia." Whispered, Alex.  
  
"Please. She weights next to nothing."  
  
Alex nodded and both of them stood next to the sofa, looking at the bundle of sheets, pillows and comforters that was the little girl they had so quickly grown attached to and just wished with all their hearts that she had good dreams.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from White Privilege (I and II) by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, particularly II.
> 
> Inverno means Winter in portuguese and my description of that ice cream shop is based on a real one called DiVerno that opened up at my hometown.
> 
> I'm sorry I didn't let Alex punch the racist dude. Don't worry, plenty of opportunity for that in the future. However, in the meantime, if you still want a taste of someone punching a racist I strongly advise and incentive you to watch Thin Ice, Doctor Who series 10 episode two! ;)
> 
> Mint chocolate chip ice cream is actually my favourite. What's yours? 
> 
> English is my second language so if you found a mistake or a typo tell me and I'll fix it ASAP.
> 
> If you have any questions, comments or just wanna tell me about a cute kitty that you saw today you can reach me at my blog( my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com) . I'm literally always there.


	6. Little Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mia watches a very cool Disney movie at Alex's apartment and noticing how much she loved it, Alex and Maggie take her to watch Beauty and the Beast on an Autism-Friendly screening. A dudebro tries to bring his stupid gender roles to their yard but they are having none of it. Some _Super _Special Guests make an appearance. (probably not the Super you're expecting).__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _"Gender roles impose control and deceive progressive times_  
>  _Welcome to the land of the broken minds"_  
>   
> 
> Longer chapter because I made yall wait so long. Sorry! (Doctor Who is back and I've been distracted)
> 
> Content warning: Misogyny. Some making out. Be safe.
> 
> Check the end notes for more info on Autism-Friendly screenings if you want to learn more!

Maggie wanted to work on a cold case next morning and Alex was happy to help so when Mia woke up, they didn't want her hearing them talk about murder, alien bodies and gore so Alex put on Moana for her to watch while they sat on the table and analysed the old case files. Maggie filled a cup with warm milk and put on some cookies in a plastic bowl and handed them to the kid.  
  
Mia seemed immediately entranced by the movie. She giggled a lot and bobbed her head to the songs while nibbling on her cookies and sporting a milk moustache.  
  
After a few hours the two women had two new suspects and growling bellies so Maggie enlisted the girls' help to make some sandwiches, careful to keep both of them away from any real action because Alex would burn the place down if she tried to cook literally anything and Mia was just a child.  
  
They all ate healthy sandwiches with apple juice and it was the healthiest food Alex had eaten in probably a week so Maggie looked thoroughly pleased. That didn't last long though, because the redhead brought to the table some of the candies they had bought the day before.  
  
Alex helped the kid to open the caramels first, but they weren't very popular. They glued Mia's teeth and she panicked, thinking her mouth would never open again so Alex got the caramels for herself and gave the child an assortment of M&M packages. Neither of the women were surprised when her favourite ones turned out to be the mint M&Ms in all their green colours. Even when she was trying the ordinary ones she only picked the green.  
  
Noticing they were closer to a food coma than a sugar high after a few minutes, Maggie said that was enough candy for both girls and helped Mia up the stool on the bathroom so she could brush her teeth. When they walked out, the little girl was humming How Far I'll Go.  
  
Maggie suddenly had an idea. She did some googling and opened Spotify, quickly finding the Brazilian version of the Moana soundtrack and playing ' _Saber Quem Sou_ '. She pretended as if she was just showing Alex another version of the song but she as actually watching Mia, who perked up and cocked her head, listening closely. When the song was over, she tapped Maggie's phone insistently.  
  
"You want me to play it again?"  
  
Mia nodded.  
  
"Do you know this language, Mia?"  
  
She nodded again, this time slower and if she were confused.  
  
"Do you know any other languages?"  
  
The child shrugged and looked down. Sensing that Mia was starting to get distressed over the questions, Maggie pressed play on the Moana soundtrack and started singing "You're Welcome" loudly, pretending to dance like Maui. The kid immediately started laughing and hopped down the chair to dance with the Detective.  
  
Alex stood back smiling so hard her cheeks hurt and filming that impromptu dance party on her phone.  
  
After the song was over, Maggie kept the Moana soundtrack on shuffle and Mia kept the party going by herself while the Detective walked to the kitchen, watching Alex pocket her phone and lazily lean back against the counter. When she found herself in front of her, she tiptoed to kiss her girlfriend's cheek and turned around so her back was pressed against Alex's front.  
  
"I hope that wherever she goes... That she'll be happy like this, you know."  
  
"Me too." Whispered Alex, wrapping her arms around Maggie's stomach and leaning down to kiss her neck. The Detective hummed appreciatively and turned around on the embrace to be able to kiss her properly.  
  
The moment their lips touched they realised they hadn't kissed properly in _days _. And suddenly that was too long. And they were not close enough. Maggie tugged her girlfriend forward until their bodies were flush together and she didn't know where she ended and Alex began. She felt Alex's tongue swiping against her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to welcome it's warmth.  
  
Alex tasted like caramel, desperation and... Just _Alex_. Something that Maggie couldn't quite describe but she didn't mind it that much because sometimes the best things in life are a mystery. Indefinable. But if she had to choose one word to put a name to it, Maggie would call it home. Not just her taste, but her scent and the way her skin felt under her fingertips, the way her short hair tangled around her fingers when she absentmindedly ran her hands through it when they were watching tv or just laying down on the bed. Home.  
  
She could feel Alex's quick heartbeats matching her own and she could feel her girlfriend's skin heat up like hers. But when Alex tried to deepen the kiss, Maggie pulled away reluctantly, sparing a look at Mia who was making a show of looking anywhere but them.  
  
"Sorry, Danvers. We gotta keep it PG13 for the time being."  
  
Alex groaned but when Maggie cleared her throat and tried to fix her hair and smooth her shirt to try to make it look like she hadn't just make out, the Agent noticed that she had been just as affected as her with that kiss so she walked away from the counted but not before playfully bumping to the other woman's shoulder and whispering "for the time being" and watching her shiver like she had been overcome by a wave of goosebumps.  
  
They sat on the couch, checking out some cartoons with Mia. Well that had been the initial goal, but Maggie realised the kid was much more interested on watching History Channel so they chilled out while Mia looked deeply entertained by a documentary about the pyramids. Alex whipped out her phone and checked it for a while.  
  
About half an hour later the kid hadn't moved an inch but Maggie really needed to pee so she quietly got up from the sofa not to disturb the entranced little girl and headed to the loo.  
  
Alex skidded on her socks to intercept her girlfriend when she was coming back from the bathroom and the Detective held her before she fell.  
  
"Oops, thanks. Oh, hey Maggie! I checked it on my phone and there's a cinema close by that's gonna have an Autism-friendly screening of Beauty and the Beast tonight. We could take Mia to see it!"  
  
Maggie cocked her head. "Who would've know that badass Agent Danvers is actually a softie that loves Disney movies."  
  
"I'm not- Those are here because of Kara!" Alex protested, meaning the vast collection of Disney movies that she had on her apartment that allowed her to pick Moana to put on the DVD to serve as entertainment for the kid earlier. "Besides it's for Mia."  
  
"Right. Mia. Because you didn't spend this entire month eagerly counting down to the premiere-"  
  
"I wasn't eagerly counting down! I was just casually pointing out that it was getting closer..."  
  
"-Or listening to snippets of Emma Watson's singing-"  
  
"She sings really well!"  
  
"-Or showing me the news about LeFou being gay on the film, or-"  
  
"Okay, fine! Maybe I do want to watch it."  
  
"Don't worry, Danvers. You're still every bit of the badass hot agent that you are on a daily basis. Just... You're also the most adorable one.  
  
Alex half-heartedly mumbled something against being called 'adorable' but she went back to the sofa, deciding to ask Mia if she wanted to go out after the documentary was over because right now she didn't think the child would even look her way. __

____

____

  
  


\- 

  
  


After the pyramids fished fascinating Mia, Alex told her her idea and watched as the child vigorously nodded when asked if she was on the mood to go out and see another movie.  
  
Mia picket an adorable violet shirt with colourful flowers and black trousers but she didn't want to put on a hoodie so Maggie put a jeans jacket in her bag because cinemas tend to be cool.  
  
The drive to the small mall whose theatre would be screening Beauty and the Beast took a little more than an hour but they kept themselves entertained by hooking up Spotify to the car speaker and listening to the Moana soundtrack. Alex had a feeling she would be memorising all the lyrics to every single song in just a few more days.  
  
When they got to the mall, they noticed a ToysRUs store and they took Mia there. At first the amount of information and the very colourful environment seemed to make the kid jittery but after a few minutes of just following Maggie and Alex and watch as they pointed some cool or cute toys out to her, she seemed to be a little more comfortable and they let her wander around the aisles, keeping a close watch but not smothering her. After a while Mia found a truck thrown in a bowl full of tiny dinosaurs, clearly out of place, but she appeared interested in it, picking it up and testing its wheels.  
  
A tall white guy with slick blond hair approached Mia and grimaced when he saw what she had in her tiny hands as if she wasn't worthy of touching it.  
  
"Those are actually for boys. Girls don't play with those. I can show you some dolls." he said, pointing at an extremely pink session of the store on the other side.  
  
Mia sadly put back the truck in the bowl and started to follow the guy but then both Maggie and Alex were next to her, looking beyond pissed off.  
  
Alex was almost fuming. "Now, excuse me-"  
  
But she was cut by a woman yelling "Gavin!"  
  
"This is your last warning, Gavin! If you keep saying things like that to customers you're gonna get yourself fired!"  
  
Gavin mumbled something about ' _feminazis _' and wandered away.  
  
"Ma'ams I am so sorry about Gavin, he's new and I haven't quite succeeded in, you know, evolving his brain out of this stupid misogynist world view."  
  
She knelt down in front of Mia and smiled.  
  
"This one's got nice eyes."  
  
Mia hid shyly behind Alex's legs and the woman laughed softly, clearly used to children's behaviour.  
  
"I see you were checking out that toy truck. If you like cars I can show you the best ones."  
  
Mia beamed and stepped out from behind the Agent, keeping one tiny finger around a belt loop. The women walked to a rack full of Hotwells and Mia's eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. She immediately started to inspect them and after a few minutes came out with an incredibly fancy car. She turned around facing Alex and Maggie and took a deep breath as if readying herself to do something she was unsure or scared.  
  
"Green." Whispered Mia, quickly looking at her shoes, shyly.  
  
Mia and Alex were shocked again. They looked at the little girl in front of them in awe. Before, they hadn't been sure she could speak English. She had only said her name and one word in Brazilian Portuguese. Of course it was clear that she could understand them but talking was a whole another matter. This was only the name of a colour and maybe she only new colour names or basic words in English but that didn't matter. They were still happy.  
  
"You like this one?" Asked the lady, not realising the other two women's surprise because she didn't know that this was Mia's second uttered word (third if you count her name).  
  
Mia nodded, back to her nonverbal self.  
  
"You have good taste. I wish I had a car like this one."  
  
The kid smiled and turned around to put the car back on the rack but Alex snatched it from her hands. "Oh no, this one is gonna be yours, honey."  
  
Mia's cheek reddened and her eyes bulged again, but this time in panic as if she had done something wrong. The Agent quickly caught up with what she was feeling.  
  
"Don't worry, little Mia. I'm just thinking that it will look great next to your Supergirl doll... And besides it's green, eh? We all need a little more green in our lives." She winked at the kid, trying to ease her worry. Mia looked a little calmer but there was still a little crinkle in her forehead.  
  
The store was relatively empty so it took them only a minute to pay and leave, Mia waving bye-bye to the lady that helped them.  
  
They sat down on a bench because Alex noticed Mia blinking rapidly, probably getting used to her surroundings being less colourful and less cramped with information than the ToysRUs store so she decided to give her a minute to adjust.  
  
Maggie took this opportunity to say something to the little one.  
  
"Toys have no gender, Mia. If it's not dangerous, you can play with whatever you want, okay?"  
  
The kid nodded solemnly and poked the bag in Alex's hand. Maggie smiled helped the kid to open the box and soon Mia was walking with one hand holding Alex's and the other tightly wrapped around her new toy, swaying it in the air. Apparently she had decided that it was a flying car. Having a flying sister, Alex didn't think much of it. Maggie thought it was adorable that occasionally the child would make turbine noises with her mouth.  
  
They bought popcorn and grape juice and watched Mia inspect the tiny white food, try it and completely approve it. She didn't detach from the popcorn while the two ladies bought their tickets and walked her to the right theatre.  
  
They looked around. kids and their guardians/parents/caretakers were free to move around and the lights were dimmed instead of completely turned off. The sound wasn't as loud and the ambient looked more warming and receptive. After they found nice places to seat and before the film began, Mia watched fellow autistic children, not saying anything as usual, but looking content like when a person that constantly hates looking at mirrors woke up one day and realise that they're gonna have a nice hair and great skin day so they don't dislike what they see so much.  
  
During the movie Maggie could hear Alex murmuring the songs and afterwards both her girlfriend and Mia had similar shiny excited eyes. When they asked her if she'd liked the movie, Mia nodded so fiercely that Alex thought her head would detach from her neck.  
  
"I'm glad you did!"  
  
When they were exiting the cinema, a boy with carefully styled short caramel blonde hair accidentally bumped into Mia and immediately raised his hands in an apology.  
  
"Oh, so sorry! Didn't see you. I was so excited thinking about the film I didn't even know where I was going, my bad! Did you watch Beauty and The Beast too? Oh I mean, it's the only film screening at this time so I guess you did! Did you like it? How cool was that?!"  
  
Mia seemed so surprised that another child was talking to her that she didn't react in any way. The boy, however, didn't seem bothered.  
  
"If you don't feel like talking, that's okay. I'm Dean and that's my brother Sammy." said Dean, pointing towards a tall blonde woman a little further away who was accompanied by another little boy. "He's autistic, you know? He hates loud noises so we can't go to the usual screenings of movies but he absolutely loves Disney so we came to this one with him. It's good that the sound is lower, isn't it?"  
  
Mia still looked dumbfounded that the boy didn't seem to be able to stop talking but she did nod slowly. The boy smiled when he got a reaction and when he noticed what was in her hands, his smile grew.  
  
"Woah! Nice ride you got there."  
  
Mia raised her hands for Dean to see her new Hotweels.  
  
"Great colour! I have a few myself but my favourite is the Chevy Impala 67. Yours is amazing, though!"  
  
Maggie and Alex were surprised at how kind this little boy was. Mia also seemed touched with his friendliness herself because she pointed at the boy with her free hand.  
  
"Dean."  
  
The boy made a funny pose like he was imitating a Greek statue.  
  
"That is me!"  
  
She giggled and pointed at herself. "Mia."  
  
"Oh! It's nice to meet you, Mia!"  
  
The boy put his hand forward and, touching only the tip of the tiny car on the girl's hand, he shook it. He must know that some autistic kids didn't like physical contact.  
  
Mia giggled again. Behind Dean, the tall blonde woman hurried towards them dragging the other boy with her. He had shaggy brown hair and was looking down, not meeting anyone's eyes.  
  
"Oh Dean, don't disappear like that! Sam was looking for you!" and then she turned at the women, "I'm so sorry if Dean has bothered you or your daughter, he's a very talkative little boy."  
  
Both Maggie and Alex laughed. That seemed to be an understatement.  
  
"We noticed. Oh, and he didn't bother us at all. And I think he made a new friend." said Maggie, motioning at Mia and Dean who were looking at the car with great interest and deciding not to correct the lady about the girl being their daughter.  
  
"Yeah, you have a bright young man there." agreed Alex.  
  
The woman exhaled as if Alex had popped a balloon that carried out all her anxieties and worried. "It's a miracle for sessions like this, isn't it? My other boy Sam is autistic," she said, pointing at the shaggy-haired boy who had detached from her and moved to stand next to his brother. "and we can only take him to Autism-friendly sessions. He's non-verbal but his brother talks for the both of them. They also seem to be mentally linked. It's a very curious sibling relationship. I'm glad they have each other."  
  
Alex realised that the woman probably didn't have many people to talk and vent to she smiles her kindest smile before kneeling down in front of Dean.  
  
"That's amazing. I have a sister and she doesn't do well with loud noises sometimes and I always try to protect her, you know?"  
  
Dean's eyes sparkled."Ever since you were kids?"  
  
Alex nodded. "That's right, buddy. And I don't plan to stop ever. I love my sister."  
  
The boy puffed his chest. "I'm gonna be like you, miss, when I grow up. I'm always gonna be there for my brother. I love him too."  
  
He put his arms around the smaller boy who simply looked at his shoes but his right hand held on a corner of Dean's shirt as if that was his way of hugging. Alex's heart warmed. "I'm Alex by the way. This is Maggie." She Introduced, getting up from her knees. The Detective waved at them.  
  
The blond women smiled. "I'm Mary. It's great meeting you."  
  
"Likewise."  
  
"Oh, hold on." Mary started rummaging through her bag until she found a piece of paper and a pen and quickly scribbled something. "Here's my number. In case you want to schedule a playdate with the boys. They don't have many friends, you know."  
  
"Mom! I have a friend!" Protested Dean, crossing his arms in front of his chest while Alex pocketed the piece of paper handed to her.  
  
"Yes honey, and Cas is great. But you could have more than one, you know."  
  
Dean seemed to consider that for a while and then he smiled. "I guess that would't be so bad. But Cas is still my man."  
  
"Of course, sweetie." Said Mary, looking with the other woman as if sharing a secret.  
  
They said goodbye because apparently Sam was hungry and Dean started babbling about burgers so they knew it was time to walk away but not before they watched the boy wave to the girl one last time and see Mia waving back.  
  
"That talk about burgers made me hungry. Fancy eating something?" asked Alex when she felt her stomach growl.  
  
Maggie's nose scrunched up. "Not a burger. Maybe some pasta."  
  
"Okay then, let's go fill our bellies."  
  
Mia's belly was full of popcorn so she didn't want to eat anything but she happily sat with the other women at the quietest corner of the small Food Court playing with her car while Alex gorged her burger and Maggie slowly ate her Fettuccine Alfredo.  
  
When they were in the car driving back home and they stopped at a red light, Mia tapped both women's arms and lifted her Hotweels.  
  
"Georgie."  
  
"You named him George?" asked Maggie.  
  
Mia shook her head. "Her."  
  
"Ohhh! Georgie. Good name, Mia." said Maggie and Alex nodded in agreement.  
  
The kid smiled proudly.  
  
  
  
-  
  
  
  
When they got home Mia had been yawning for minutes. They had her take a quick shower and when she came out, she looked sleepy so Alex said she would put her to bed while Maggie took a shower since the had already showered before leaving to the mall.  
  
Mia's tiny hands were clutching the green car in one hand and her Supergirl doll in the other when Alex neatly tucked the comforter burrito around her. She kissed the top of her head gently, whispered a "Good night, Mia." And got up to leave.  
  
Only Mia's head was showing from under all those sheets but she wiggled one arm free and gently grabbed Alex's wrist before she could leave, dropping the Supergirl doll against her shoulder.  
  
The kid was frowning as if concentrating to do some hard task but then she saw the Agent's patient look and her frown eased.  
  
"Ally."  
  
Alex blinked in quiet shock but tried not to make it show so Mia wouldn't feel any pressure to keep talking.  
  
"Yes, sweetheart?"  
  
"Thank you." she said, slowly. Her eyes closed and she peacefully drifted off to sleep, her hand falling gently from Alex's wrist.  
  
The Agent stood there for a few more moments, processing and then she walked to the bathroom where she heard the shower being turned off.  
  
She quietly knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"  
  
"Sure, babe." Answered Maggie through what seemed like a mouthful of toothpaste.  
  
The agent got in and leaned against the bathroom wall, watching her girlfriend spit, rinse and turn towards her, smiling a minty smile.  
  
"Mia talked."  
  
"She did? What did she say?"  
  
"She called me 'Ally' and said 'thank you'."  
  
Maggie awed. "She really likes you."  
  
"I really like her too. She's a great kid." confessed Alex.  
  
"She really is." agreed Maggie.  
  
Alex put her hands in her pockets and her fingers touched paper. She took off the scribble with Mary's number on it and looked at the small piece of paper with a tinge of sadness. "Maybe we can share this number with whoever takes Mia into their care so she can play with these boys."  
  
Maggie detected Alex sadness but didn't say anything about it because she kind of felt it herself. "They seem like great people."  
  
There was a small silence before Alex broke it. "I didn't expect it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"To be good at this." Alex smiled but then her eyes suddenly looked vulnerable, "I mean... I'm still not sure that I should be doing this or that I'm actually good, but... It feels like it."  
  
"You are good at this." Maggie reassured her.  
  
"So are you." Alex kissed Maggie's head softly.  
  
Maggie snaked her arms around Alex's waist. " _We _are good at this."  
  
Alex hummed, appreciating the "we". Every time Maggie referenced to them as something united she still felt a chill run through her body.  
  
"You know something else we are good at?" asked the Detective in a sultry voice.  
  
Alex's heart rate picked up."What?"  
  
Maggie got so close to Alex that their whole bodies were touching and leaned on her tiptoes to whisper in a sexy low voice on the taller girl's ear, "PG13 Sleeping." Then ran out of the bathroom and jumped back, falling to the bed laughing and covering her face with a pillow to muffle the sound so she wouldn't wake Mia.  
  
Alex walked to the edge of the bed, groaned and then giggled at how much she loved her ridiculous small girlfriend.  
  
"Walked right into that one, didn't I?", asked Alex, jumping on the bed next to Maggie.  
  
____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song title from Benny's song "Little Game". If you feel like it, watch the video: it's awesome!  
> link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNr3x1kVVEc
> 
> Autism-friendly screening of films are real. I'm not going to put a link here because it's different from country to country so if you want to know more about it you can google and check out if your town has something like that. Usually what an "autism-friendly" screening of a film means is that the lights are left on low, the sound is turned down (reduces overstimulation), there is freedom to move around and sit wherever you like, you can bring your food and drink and the staff there is trained in autism awareness.
> 
> The Special guests (aka Dean, Sam and Mary) were not planned out. The scene just came to me and I tried changing their names but it just wanted to play out that way. If you don't know, they're from Supernatural. I AU-ed them a little. If yall don't dig it, I am not having them over again but if yall dig it, just holler.
> 
> As always, comments are deeply appreciated but if you want to talk to me on tumblr, ask any questions or tell me about a great burger you had or that delicious Fettuccine Alfredo you ate last week, please drop by! I'm always there  
> http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com


	7. Nothing Is Ever Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of how Mia crashed on Earth is uncovered but it brings along a lot more questions and mysteries. An accident triggers a flashback that the little girl doesn't know if it's real or just her imagination. 
> 
> Featuring everyone being a softie around Mia and Vasquez making a special appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _"Nothing is ever forgotten. Not completely. And if something can be remembered it can come back."_  
>     
>    
> Sorry about the delay my friends. I've been a little... Sad with the news of Floriana Lima only having a recurring role in series three. And the plot part of this chapter just didn't want to come out of my brain. The rest basically wrote itself. Good news is that I already have the next chapter written and I'll post it next Monday!
> 
> Btw this chapter doesn't have much Maggie because it's set at the DEO but the next one will hopefully make up for it!
> 
> **CONTENT WARNING**: descriptions of injury, blood, scars, past physical abuse and violence. Be safe.
> 
>  

Next morning was Monday and Maggie woke up startled and horrified that she had forgotten to set her alarm. She quickly made coffee and chugged a mug of it, trying her best not to splash droplets of it everywhere while she ran around the apartment searching for her police badge while yelling at Alex, who was showering, to not forget to feed the child before going to the DEO.  
  
Mia woke with the commotion and stared at the Detective through bleary eyes.  
  
"Sorry about the raucous wake up call, Mia. Ain't no rest for the wicked, eh? I have to go to work but Alex will take care of you today, okay?"  
  
The kid rubbed her eyes and watched Maggie even open the fridge to see if she accidentally had let her badge there. Mia got out of her cocoon and grabbed the metal thing from the shelf that Maggie had completely overlooked. She tugged the woman's shirt to get her attention and handed her the badge with a small smile.  
  
After helping Mia get dressed up (a long-sleeved blue shirt with the picture of a nightingale and jeans) Maggie realised she was ten minutes late and after kissing the kid's forehead and Alex's lips she all but flew out of the door.  
  
"Guess it's just us today, huh?"  
  
Alex didn't actually want to take the child to the DEO with her but it was a better option than just leaving her alone in her apartment so she asked if Mia wanted to take anything with her today and Mia grabbed her Supergirl doll.  
  
After breakfast they drove to the DEO listening to the Moana soundtrack. _Again_. Alex thought to herself that if she started singing " _How Far I'll Go_ " at work she would ban Disney songs that stuck to her brain from playing in her car. But she couldn't help but smile when she saw that Mia was humming " _Shiny_ " and swinging her doll around happily.  
  
When they parked and walked towards the building, Mia stopped dead at the door and Alex had to reassure her that she would not have to do any tests or anything at least three times before the kid moved again reluctantly.  
  
J'onn greeted them at the main hall. He gave a short nod to Alex's direction as a hello and knelt down in front of the kid. She felt shy and wanted to hide behind the woman's legs but when she sneaked a glance up, she saw nothing but kindness in J'onn's eyes. There was also something familiar about this man that Mia didn't know what it was. The reached forward with her hands and touched his face so softly that he almost didn't feel her fingers.  
  
"Hi."  
  
He looked at Alex, surprised to hear the kid talk.  
  
"Hi, Mia. I didn't get a change to introduce myself the last time you were here. I'm J'onn J'onzz."  
  
Mia dropped her hands and frowned. She made some sounds and Alex realised she was trying to say his name. The best she could do was "DJ. Z" and Alex had to do everything not to burst out laughing.  
  
"Hey Jay Z, where's Beyoncé?"  
  
J'onn glared at her. Alex thanked the heavens that it was her sister and not her boss that had heat vision.  
  
Mia wanted to get it right so she tugged at J'onn's shirt. "Slower."  
  
He looked at Alex questioningly.  
  
"I think she wants you to repeat your name but slower."  
  
He said it again, making sure to pronounce it clearly. Mia stared at his lips unblinkingly and then repeated it perfectly.  
  
"Good job, kiddo."  
  
Mia didn't know what to do so she raised her Supergirl doll for J'onn to see.  
  
"Oh, look at that! Seems like you have a buddy to keep you company today, right?"  
  
She smiled at him shyly and playfully made the doll kiss his cheek. He matched her smile and turned around to call Agent Vasquez over his shoulder.  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"Why don't you show Mia here and Supergirl around?"  
  
"Oh, is Supergirl coming in today?"  
  
"The _doll_ , Agent Vasquez."  
  
"Oh right, yeah of course!"  
  
The woman grinned at Mia and beckoned her to follow her.  
  
"Nowhere dangerous!" called J'onn after the Agent.  
  
"Yes, sir!"  
  
J'onn and Alex smiled at the retreating forms of Vasquez and the child an then he got up from his kneeling position and turned to face her.  
  
"Alex I really don't think it's a good idea to bring Mia here. It's a dangerous place after all."  
  
The Agent fixed her black uniform shirt. "I know it's not ideal but Maggie had to go to work and I don't think leaving her alone in my apartment would've been any less dangerous than her coming to work with me."  
  
"Couldn't she have gone with Detective Sawyer?" asked J'onn.  
  
"The DEO is still safer than the NCPD." pointed the Agent.  
  
He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Still not a place for a child."  
  
Alex's confidence wavered. "Well... I- I didn't know what else to do..."  
  
J'onn heard self-doubt on her voice and he softened. He didn't want her to think that she wasn't doing a good job taking care of the child."As long as she doesn't interfere with anything she can stay here today but tomorrow you are going to have to find someplace else for the kid to stay, Agent Danvers."  
  
"Understood, sir."  
  
At that moment, Winn came skidding towards them. "Alex! J'onn!"  
  
The DEO Director stilled the boy by placing both hands on his shoulders before he could fall. "Status report, Agent Schott?"  
  
"I've been tinkering with Mia's pod during the weekend and I've gathered a bit of info together with DEO's mechanics."  
  
"What did you find?" asked J'onn.  
  
"Not a lot. But I did find its original destination. It's not good, though."  
  
Alex frowned. "What do you mean ' _it's not good_ '?"  
  
"Check this out."  
  
The boy guided Alex and J'onn to his computer and pulled up a file that stated the pod's destination using space coordinates.  
  
There was a moment of silence when they processed the information.  
  
"But that’s-"  
  
"The Sun's coordinates. Yes." finished Winn, gloomily.  
  
It took them only a moment to understand the implications of that information.  
  
"This was an attempted murder." J'onn finally said what they were all thinking.  
  
Alex's expression darkened.  
  
"It appears to be more than that. I was able to pull data from this device." Winn picked up and showed them something that looked like a tablet except thicker and heavier. "It was under the console, it's not standard equipment for pods and it looks like it contains a lot of notes from what appears to have been a trial."  
  
"So what, were they trying to get rid of this?" asked J'onn, pointing at the device.  
  
Winn got quiet all of the sudden like he was scared of the reaction that what he had to say would cause.  
  
"I believe they were eliminating incriminating evidence. The trial must've been secret and illegal. Something must've happened and they thought they would get found out so..."  
  
"They tried to get rid of the evidence." finished Alex. "And the trial subject."  
  
Again, Winn looked like he didn't want to say what he was going to say. "Subject _s_."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"It says that four pods were launched simultaneously. All of them with the same original destination."  
  
"Why didn't it work? Did Mia steer the pod out of course?" asked J'onn.  
  
Winn shook his head. "No. I can't read all the notes yet but the first one I found says that the occupants of the pods were under some sort of coma while in the pod and even if they weren't, they wouldn't be able to steer it. The pod only goes to its pre-set destination."  
  
"But then why didn't she-" Alex took a deep breath. "Why didn't she hit the sun?"  
  
"Now _that_ is something curious. Because someone managed to override it. Someone redirected Mia's pod here. To Earth."  
  
"What does that mean?" asked J'onn scratching his head.  
  
"Someone tried to save her." answered Winn, looking a little more hopeful. "That's good, right?"  
  
"Someone else still tried to _murder_ her, Winn." snapped Alex.  
  
"What about the other pods?" inquired J'onn.  
  
Winn looked at his shoes. "They show no signs of having their original destination changed."  
  
"Which means... They reached it. That- That three other children are dead." said Alex. She looked away, her jaw clenched and her posture rigid.  
  
"We don't know if the other pods had children as occupants too." mumbled Winn.  
  
"That's not important, Winn!" snarled the Agent.  
  
The boy raised his hands in surrender. J'onn found better to intervene before Alex threatened to snap his neck or something.  
  
"What else did you find, Agent Schott?"  
  
"The rest is under some crazy level encryption so I just found out one more thing."  
  
"What?" Alex's head snapped up.  
  
"It also said on the device that before they were put into the pods, the occupants had their memories wiped."  
  
J'onn and Alex both frowned.  
  
"But if they were sending the trial subjects to their deaths, why would they also erase their memories? Safety precaution?"  
  
"I don't know that. Hopefully I'll know more after I managed to break the encryption."  
  
"How long will that take?" asked Alex.  
  
"I created a software that could decrypt the file but it will take a long time."  
  
The Agent took a menacing step closer to Winn. " _How long_?"  
  
Winn swallowed hard. "Months. At least."  
  
"Get it done fast, Winn. What if whoever tried to kill her knows she is alive and is coming back to finish the job?"  
  
Winn quickly wandered away gulping, scared of Alex and of all the things she could do with her finger.  
  
"Agent Danvers, it's been a few days that Mia's been on Earth and there were no signs of danger." pointed J'onn.  
  
"Maybe they don't know that she didn't reach the pod's original destination yet. But if they find out maybe they'll go after her looking to clean up evidence."  
  
Alex hated that. She hated that someone had tried to kill Mia. That someone had succeeded in killing three other children- or people- (she didn't care about their age). She wanted to make them pay.  
  
J'onn noticed when her fists clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white.  
  
"So are you going to tell her?"  
  
"What? That someone tried to murder her? No. She doesn't remember it and I'd like to keep it that way... At least for the time being. Besides, what good would it do to scare her?"  
  
"Keep her alert?"  
  
"She's a little kid. It's not like she can protect herself. Besides, she's got us for that. We'll take care of her." Said Alex, firmly.  
  
J'onn nodded. He couldn't help but notice how strongly protective his Agent had become of the small girl in such a short period of time.  
  
Alex looked hesitant before she addressed him again. "Have you heard anything from the social worker?"  
  
The DEO Director looked at her curiously and she briefly wondered if he was reading her mind.  
  
"She contacted me and said there had been no luck finding a place for Mia and that she would come by Wednesday, so you're supposed to bring the kid here then." J'onn looked at Alex and added "But only _then_."  
  
Before they could talk about something else Mia came running towards Alex and slam-hugged her legs when she reached her, almost making the woman lose her balance. Agent Vasquez came behind her looking slightly out of breath.  
  
"I tried showing her around but she kept calling for ' _Ally_ ', I assume that's you, Danvers?"  
  
"Yes." She said while patting Mia's back gently, her voice full of warning that if Vasquez (or anyone besides Mia) tried calling her that she could be in a world of trouble on the next sparring match.  
  
Winn had wandered back to where they were, curious to meet the little girl now that she was back with them.  
  
Alex felt bad for having put the fear of god in him so she tugged at Mia's shirt. "Hey, kid. This is my friend Winn."  
  
Mia turned her head slightly while still hugging the Agent's legs to sneak a peek at the boy. He waved at her enthusiastically. The little girl waved her Supergirl doll at him as a greeting. Winn really loved children and this one was so adorable.  
  
"We need to find some place for her to stay today so you can work on those alien samples in the lab." Declared J'onn.  
  
Alex nodded but looked hesitant. She didn't want to leave Mia in some random room with nothing to do to pass the time.  
  
Winn stepped forward.  
  
"The software I created runs itself so I'm free today. Why don't I take you to the break room where I installed some videogames for when I have some free time. We can play _Mario Kart_." he said, looking excited.  
  
J'onn cleared his throat.  
  
Winn swallowed hard. "Which I do not... Have... No free time. I never use it, really."  
  
"Don't hurt yourself, Agent Schott. So what do you say, Mia?" asked J'onn, turning back to the child.  
  
Mia didn't really want to go with the white boy but she knew Alex had to work and she didn't want to be a bother so she nodded, wondering what the heck was a " _kart_ ", who was Mario and why they had to play with him.  
  
She detached from Alex's legs and looked up.  
  
"I'll see you later, Mia." the Agent said with a wink.  
  
The kid nodded again and followed the Winn boy out of the main hall.  
  


\- 

  
  
The room they were in was dark and Winn had used some screens like the ones they had on the main hall to put together a giant videogame screen.  
  
Winn explained quickly how the game worked and handed Mia a controller.  
  
It was too big for her hands and too heavy for her. It kept slipping to her lap and there were way too many confusing buttons and after a few attempts she grew frustrated and handed the controller back to Winn, happy to just watch him play.  
  
A few of hours later an Agent came and asked Winn to check out the weapon's inventory real quick. The boy told her he would be right back and that she could play a race in the meantime.  
  
Mia didn't want to be alone in that room so she got up and wandered out of it and after the Winn boy. Soon she heard his voice. He was talking to himself while checking the number of alien grenades on a shelf at the back of a giant storage room.  
  
The first thing Mia noticed when she walked in the new room was that it was full of swords. Various lengths and styles. Some of them even looked alien. Mia's attention was caught by a long straight sword that had a ruby encrusted hilt. Curious, she raised her hand to pick it up but she wasn't expecting it to be so heavy. The sword slipped from her hold and on instinct she tried to grab it with her other hand.  
  
The noise of the sword hitting the floor muffled the whimper she let out when the blade cut her hand. Startled by the sound, Winn jumped, turned around and his eyes widened when he saw the child.  
  
Winn hurried towards her and said something but Mia didn't hear because she was watching the blood pool on the palm of her hand and then she was no longer there.  
  
She was in a small, square and freezing cold room, standing behind a metal desk where a Newton's cradle sat, unmoving.  
  
"Do it."  
  
She looked up. In front of her there was a man. He was tall, pale and his hair was so blonde it was almost white. His eyes were blue and sharp and there was no warmth on them.  
  
" _Eu não consigo!_ " she heard herself say.  
  
"Speak English!" he screamed, spit spraying out of his mouth.  
  
Mia backed away until her back hit a wall. She had nowhere else to go.  
  
"Do it." commanded the man again.  
  
Mia felt tears prickling her eyes. "I- I can't."  
  
"YOU'RE LYING!" he walked around the table and stood in front of the child, who flinched. "DO IT."  
  
"Please." Mia held her hands up, begging. "Please, I can't."  
  
The man's expression turned sour. He slapped her hands away and took a switchblade from his pocket. He raised it, making an arc in the air slowly. When he brought his hand down with a swish, it made contact with Mia's midriff, cutting her thin white shirt and her skin.  
  
She hissed at the sharp pain but tried to control herself. She knew him. If she let herself look vulnerable and show pain he would only hurt her more.  
  
"This is for you to learn not to be such a useless, disgusting-" he didn't complete his sentence, spitting next to her and walking out of the room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
She felt a warm liquid soaking her stomach and she lowered her hand to the ripped part of her shirt. When she took her hand away, it was sticky and stained red.  
  
Mia blinked. She was no longer on the cold room. There was still blood on her hand. She shook her head trying to get the cold room and the blond man away from her thoughts. Maybe it had been one of those dreams that people had when they're awake. Or maybe just her imagination.  
  
The Winn boy was frantically trying to get her attention, shaking her shoulders. When she looked up she felt irrationally scared. He was a man and he had the same fair skin as the one who had hurt her in her vision and he was touching her shoulders. What if he was going to hurt her too? She struggled herself free of his hold, shrieking. Winn immediately retreated his hands.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just wanted to see if you were okay! You zoned out there for a minute!" He tried approaching her again but she backed away until her back hit the wall and she slid down to the floor. Winn noticed she was shaking. He raised his hands. "Okay, it's okay. I won't touch you, okay?"  
  
She eyed him warily but let him kneel in front of her and look at her hand.  
  
"I gotta take you to Alex so she can clean this up, alright?"  
  
Mia nodded and got up, walking next to Winn towards a place she'd hoped she wouldn't set foot again.  
  
-  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from a quote from the Doctor Who episode "The Pandorica Opens" (series five). See the quote on the beginning notes. I don't own that either, just borrowed it for dramatic effect.
> 
> Yes, I know that breaks the whole "Every Chapter Is Named After A Song" thing but the other name for this chapter would've been "The Memory Remains" by Metallica and even though I have the song saved on my Spotify playlist, I don't actually _like_ it all that much. It's a bit too loud for me. But if you do like it, you can take it as an alternative title.
> 
> Disclaimer: my dudes I don't freaking know how to play videogames (only The Sims and those old ass Harry Potter computer games, which by the way happy 20 years of Harry Potter - I just realised I am one month and 15 days younger than the Harry Potter series) or anything about them at all, which is why I didn't specify which console Winn was using. My reaction to videogames is the same as Mia's (This thing that you use to play it is heavy, full of buttons, confusing and I rather be reading right now so I'm just gonna watch you play, okay?).
> 
> If you don't know or don't remember what a Newton's cradle is or how it works, check this out:  
> http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm
> 
> As always, comments are deeply appreciated and thoroughly begged but if you want to talk to me on tumblr, ask any questions or tell me about that fantastic Mario Kart game you played yesterday, please drop by! I'm always there:  
> http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com
> 
>   
> 
> UPDATE:  
> Because I have way too much time on my hands and because I like music I made a Spotify playlist with all the songs featured in this fic. Not only Title songs but all the ones that are mentioned or used on the story. If yall wanna give it a listen:  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/12145297170/playlist/44fQosAxDwVN1AYFF2DcJu


	8. What's Up?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mia's hurt, Winn's sorry and Alex is angry and protective and J'onn's supportive.  
> The little girl finds out if the vision she had when she cut her hand was real or not.
> 
> Featuring: Mia representing all of us when we don't get enough Maggie (*cough, cough* looking at you series three) and Alex being oblivious about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _"And so I cry sometimes_  
>  _When I'm lying in bed_  
>  _Just to get it all out_  
>  _What's in my head_  
>  _And I, I am feeling a little peculiar_  
>  _And so I wake in the morning_  
>  _And I step outside_  
>  _And I take a deep breath and I get real high_  
>  _And I scream from the top of my lungs_  
>  _What's going on?"_  
>     
> *CONTENT WARNING*: description of injury, treatment of injuries, scars.

  
  
The DEO infirmary was just like she remembered from a few days ago and Mia felt scared. She didn't want to be poked and prodded again.  
  
Before they got inside, she thought she heard Winn say "Alex is _so_ going to kill me" under his breath.  
  
Alex was wearing a lab coat and protective goggles and was hunched over her workbench, frowning at some Petri dish.  
  
"Um, Alex..." Winn called, shifting from one foot to the other nervously.  
  
"Winn? Is Mia hungry? There are some candy bars in my bag if-" she turned around and noticed Winn's wary expression and Mia's bloody hand. "Winn, what the hell happened?"  
  
The Agent dropped everything she was doing and hurried next to the child, pushing Winn out of the way.  
  
"I- I left her in the break room for a second but I guess she must've followed me. And, uh, she picked up a sword-"  
  
"A _sword_?! You were supposed to watch her!" Alex yelled as she bent down, picked Mia up and put her on infirmary bed that was too high for the kid to reach. Mia flinched slightly when she was touched but didn't recoil from Alex.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Winn said quickly, trying to get out of her way as she looked for some first aid kits.  
  
J'onn's head poked on the doorway. "Who got hurt?"  
  
"M-Mia." stammered Winn, from the corner he had backed on to. "How did you find out?"  
  
"I followed a trail of blood." explained the DEO director, pointing at the floor. They all looked down to see droplets of blood where Mia had walked from the break room to the infirmary like a Gretel and Hansel path.  
  
"Also you're not exactly using your bedside voices." finished J'onn, looking at them pointedly.  
  
"Well, he left her alone and she picked up a sword and cut her hand."  
  
"It was only for a minute! I had to check the inventory and I didn't think she would follow me, I'm so-"  
  
Alex shut Winn up with a look and she kept glaring at him until he had retreated into a corner and she started gently cleaning the blood out of Mia's hand so she could take a look at the wound. "Honey, it's going to need a few stitches."  
  
Mia visibly paled when she saw a needle and started shaking slightly.  
  
"Oh sweetheart, don't be scared, it'll be over soon. I would hold your hand but I have to do use them to do the stitches."  
  
J'onn stepped forward and next to the infirmary bed. "You can hold mine if you want."  
  
He offered his hand but didn't touch the kid, leaving the decision to the little girl. Mia hesitated for a second and then she reached forward and grabbed two of J'onn's fingers, which was all she could fit in her tiny grip.  
  
Alex raised an eyebrow but the corners of her lips twitched. Mia didn't seem to be very fond of males in general, but she actually liked J'onn. It was almost as if she recognised something in him. It was really cute but Alex felt something else... It was almost if she was... _jealous_?  
  
_Of what_ , she thought, _of Mia giving attention to someone other than me and Maggie? It's not like I'm... Her mother._  
  
Alex quickly shook that thought away to focus on Mia's injury. "I'm going to apply some anaesthetic to the area so it won't hurt so much, okay?"  
  
Mia nodded but when Alex got closer to her with the needle she instinctively squeezed J'onn's fingers and then quickly looked up and patted them apologetically.  
  
"No, that's okay! Why don't you show me how hard you can squeeze my hand- Whoa! That's so strong, little lady!" J'onn said, playfully, feigning a pained face. Mia giggled.  
  
While Alex was doing the stitches Winn had stepped forward, out of his corner, a little unsure of himself and started to apologise in all the ways he could. The boy looked closer to crying than the injured child.  
  
"All done" said Alex, giving one last fix to the gauze that now wrapped Mia's hand. "Now don't go playing around with any more swords, right?" She booped Mia's nose and earned a small smile and a nod.  
  
When the Agent got her down from the infirmary bed, the kid walked toward Winn and touched his hand with her injured one, feeling more comfortable having a layer of cloth between them.  
  
"T's okay Winny."  
  
When Mia looked at him now, all nervous and worried, he looked less and less like the man from the cold room. His features were kinder and his eyes were nothing but warm. She thought that given some time she could begin to like and even trust him so she patted his hand awkwardly but withdrew her own.  
  
All of Alex's anger seemed to evaporate when she heard that. "She called you a _weenie_."  
  
"N-no! She didn't! She called me _Winny_ not-" he would have kept on protesting but Alex laughed too hard and he trailed off. Well, it was better that she was just laughing at him instead of wanting to murder him so he didn't complain.  
  
Blushing slightly, Winn excused himself to go finish checking out the inventory and Mia made a beeline to where Vasquez had showed her the restrooms were earlier.  
  
Finding herself alone with J'onn made Alex let out a huge breath she didn't realise she was holding.  
  
"You can say it." she mumbled, avoiding J'onn's eyes and throwing away the things she'd used to clean Mia's cut.  
  
"Say what, Agent Danvers?"  
  
"' _I told you so_ '. You were right. The DEO is not a place for a child." Alex pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep shaky breath. "I shouldn't be taking care of her. I'm doing a horrible job at it."  
  
"Yes, I was right. But you are wrong."  
  
Alex looked up, a mixture of confusion and guilt on her face.  
  
"Someone did try to kill her. And if you're correct and they're coming back to finish the job I couldn't think of a safer place for Mia to be."  
  
"But-"  
  
"By "place" I mean _with you_. And with Detective Sawyer, of course. This way that little girl not only has the NCPD protecting her but also the DEO and Supergirl."  
  
"You really think I could take care of her?"  
  
"No doubt in my mind that you _can_." He smiled at her. "But Alex, It's your decision if you _want_ to. And whatever you decide, I'll be here for you."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
She didn't really know what else to say so she reached forward and hugged him.  
  
  
  


\- 

  
  
  
  
Alex banned Winn from babysitting and asked Vasquez to look after the kid but when the Agent went to check on her half an hour later (Winn following her, still looking worried), Mia crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted so hugely that it was almost comical.  
  
"Woah, someone's grumpy. Did Winn annoy you _that_ much before-"  
  
"Hey!" protested Winn.  
  
"-Or is your hand still hurting?"  
  
Mia shook her head but her mood seemed to be getting worse by each passing minute so J'onn dismissed Alex earlier so she could take the child back to her apartment but even when the Agent said that they were finally leaving, the kid's frown didn't ease.  
  
She knew that children threw tantrums, that they cried and pouted for no reason sometimes. And Mia actually had plenty of reasons, number one being getting cut with a sword earlier.  
  
Alex drove them back in silence. She had tried to get a reaction out of Mia by playing the Moana soundtrack but all that the child did was to look at the empty passenger seat longingly for a second and then go back to pouting.  
  
When they got to her apartment, Mia looked around expectantly but seeing it empty made her face fall. Alex thought she might be hungry so they moved to the counter and she scavenged her kitchen for something to offer the child but it didn't matter what she put in front of her, Mia would just shake her head, looking sadder each time. She thought she heard the kid whisper " _Ma_ " once but Alex didn't understand.  
  
"Can you tell me what you want?"  
  
Mia slammed her tiny fists on the counter, wincing a little when her injured hand made contact. " _MA_!"  
  
Alex noticed that the gesture wasn't an angry or demanding one. It sounded more desperate with a little tinge of fear. The Agent felt the urge to yank her hair out of her scalp.  
  
"Ma? What's ma? Mac and cheese? Macaroni? Ma..." she shook her head, giving up. "I don't know, Mia! Help me out here!"  
  
She even put assorted candy in front of her but Mia didn't move. Alex was starting to get desperate herself when she heard the door unlock.  
  
"Hey babe, I'm ho-" Maggie started to announce herself but she was interrupted by a jumping small child. Alex hadn't even seen the kid move out of the counter stool. Luckily for both of them, Maggie wasn't carrying anything. She wrapped her arms around Mia and held her on reflex.  
  
"Wow! What a nice welcome!"  
  
Mia's frown was gone altogether. She now looked completely at ease and happy.  
  
Alex sighed, understanding. "So _that's_ what you wanted." she said while walking away from the counter and throwing herself at the couch, trying to relieve her stress.  
  
Mia touched Maggie's cheek gently with her good hand. "Ma'."  
  
Alex closed her eyes and cursed silently when it dawned on her.  
  
"Oh, so I'm _Ma_ '?" asked Maggie, her voice both surprised and touched.  
  
Mia scanned Maggie's face as if worried she didn't like her nickname but the Detective's dimples were on full display. "I love it. I was kinda feeling left out of the whole nicknames deal."  
  
Maggie booped Mia's small nose and put her down. That's when she noticed the bandaged hand.  
  
"What happened to your hand, sweetheart?"  
  
Mia walked towards Alex and plopped down on the couch next to her.  
  
"Winn took his eyes out of her for a minute and she decided to play with a sword." said Alex, ruffling Mia's hair playfully so the kid would know she wasn't angry with her.  
  
"A _sword_?" asked Maggie, horrified.  
  
"Yes. So no more DEO hangouts with her. I texted Kara and she'll take her to CatCo tomorrow. The worst she can get there is a paper cut. Or bored." she shrugged.  
  
Now that Maggie was home Mia was much more pliable. She agreed to eat something. Maggie was too tired to cook and Alex didn't feel like burning the house down so they decided to order takeout and take showers while waiting. Mia watched some documentary on History Channel, which, they all had realised by now, was her favourite channel.  
  
Mia didn't seem very fond of the idea of Delivery Guys. When the bell rang and Alex opened the door, she stood up from the sofa and glared almost comically at the dude standing there like he violated the sanctity of Alex's apartment.  
  
Maggie thought it was pretty funny because they ordered so much takeout that they knew most of the delivery people's names. This one was Jack, a really nice university student, and he even tried waving hello to the child glaring daggers at him after the Detective introduced him, but she didn't move an inch instead of frowning a little at his name as if it sounded familiar. He didn't seem to take it personally when they told him she didn't really know how the takeout industry worked. They tipped him generously and he bid them all a goodnight.  
  
Alex closed the door and Mia relaxed and when she smelled the containers he had brought she seemed to be a bit fonder of the idea of takeout.  
  
All of them were pretty surprised when Mia stared at knives and forks like they were alien instruments but grabbed her _waribashi_ and used them with ease.  
  
"You're really good with chopsticks, Mia. It took me a while to get a handle on them." complimented Alex.  
  
" _Hashi_." Mia said quick, almost on reflex.  
  
"What?"  
  
She raised her _waribashi_. " _Hashi_."  
  
Maggie did a quick work of googling it and showed her phone to Alex: _hashi_ was the Japanese name for chopsticks.  
  
"You speak Japanese, Mia?" asked the Detective.  
  
Mia shook her head. The women didn't ask more questions seen as Mia was too preoccupied wolfing down her _yakisoba_.  
  
When they were done eating, Maggie asked Mia to take a shower and she nodded, walking to the bathroom.  
  
"Hold on, let me take your dirty bandages out so I can put new ones after you bathe."  
  
Alex took the bandages out as gently, quickly and as painlessly as she could and Mia felt bad for giving her a hard time earlier. She held on to the woman's hand with her good one.  
  
"Sorry." said Mia, looking ashamed.  
  
"No need to apologise. Wanna hear a secret?" asked Alex. Mia nodded and leaned forward so the agent could whisper in her ear. "When I miss her I get a little grumpy too."  
  
Mia smiled and Alex was amazed by how adorable her dimples were. She shouldn't be surprised by it, with Kara and Maggie around, but it truly was incredibly adorable.  
  
"Need help with your clothes because of your hand?"  
  
Mia shook her head and grabbed the pyjamas Alex handed her. She headed to the bathroom and closed the door behind her and took off her clothes awkwardly, wincing when her injured hand made contact with the fabric of her shirt. Her fingers brushed against one of her scars and she looked down.  
  
Among the various scars there was a long thin line that stood out on her stomach. It was lighter than her brown skin and it stood out like a 3D model. She traced it with her index finger. It looked like it had been made by a switchblade.  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes.
> 
> Yes, I chose this title because SENSE8 LIVES but also because Mia feeling peculiar is kind of a foreshadow and the whole sense8 vibe that this song brings is very fitting.
> 
> Fun fact: I made myself laugh with the _weenie_ thing. Also: History Channel is one of my favourite channels too.
> 
> So IRL I refuse to use the word "chopsticks". It just feels very crude, just like fellow Brazilians calling them "palitinhos" (little sticks). If I ever use them on this story I'll call them "hashi", which is the Japanese name for them.
> 
> Waribashi are the disposable hashi, like the ones you get at restaurants.  
> Yakisoba is my favourite food in the world fucking universe. 
> 
> Btw Mia knowing how to use them is also a foreshadow. *wink wink*  
> Btw 2: the name "Jack" is also a foreshadow. *wink wink*  
> YOU GET A FORESHADOW AND YOU GET A FORESHADOW AND YOOOOOU GET A FORESHADOW!!!
> 
>  
> 
> As always, comments are deeply appreciated and _thoroughly begged_ but if you want to talk to me on tumblr, ask any questions or tell me about that delicious yakisoba you had that one time, please drop by! I'm always there:  
>  http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com
> 
>  
> 
> UPDATE:  
> Because I have way too much time on my hands and because I like music I made a Spotify playlist with all the songs featured in this fic. Not only Title songs but all the ones that are mentioned or used on the story. If yall wanna give it a listen:  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/12145297170/playlist/44fQosAxDwVN1AYFF2DcJu


	9. On Top Of The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The DEO is too dangerous for a little girl to spend the day so Alex asks Kara to take the kid to work with her.
> 
> Featuring: Cat Grant teams up with Mia to reveal a selfish businessman's true colours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Cause I'm on top of the world,_   
>  _I'm on top of the world,_   
>  _Waiting on this for a while now_   
>  _Paying my dues to the dirt_   
>  _I've been waiting to smile,_   
>  _Been holding it in for a while,_   
>  _Take you with me if I can_   
>  _Been dreaming of this since a child"_
> 
>  
> 
> HELLO HUMANS!
> 
> Yes, this fic has been on hiatus. It was my birthday and during that month I was across the pond (Well, up the pond and a little to the left? Idk man, I suck in geography) so that meant I didn't have my laptop (her name is Root) with me.  
> Also some things (like the SDCC mess, the info about Man Hell returning and the recent news about sanvers) took away my motivation for a while. But a tiny girl with different coloured eyes just wouldn't leave me alone. She wants me to tell her story so here I am.
> 
> So buckle up, creampuffs!
> 
> ...
> 
> No wait, that's from another fandom.
> 
>  
> 
> *Content warning* : ableism.

She was back in the cold room, staring at the unmoving Newton's cradle. The scary white man was glaring daggers at her.  
  
"MAKE IT MOVE." He screamed.  
  
Mia woke up with a gasp. The back of her shirt was damp with cold sweat and she felt her hair sticking to her forehead.  
  
She tiptoed to the bathroom, hopped on the little stool and opened the tap so she would drink some water. The women had told her she was free to open the fridge anytime she wanted to look for something to snack or drink but she still felt too awkward to do that. She didn't want to intrude. Besides, she had a feeling she'd drank a lot of tap water before.  
  
Mia hopped down and silently walked back to the living room. She could see Maggie and Alex sleeping from where she was because they didn't exactly have a door. Maggie was snoring gently and Alex twitched in her sleep sometimes. Mia wondered if she was having a bad dream herself.  
  
The little girl walked closer to their bed and stood there, looking at them. She started wondering if sleeping a little closer to them would help keep the bad images at bay. Deciding to give it a try, she walked back to the couch, snatched her doll from out of the comforter mess that it was and tiptoed back to the bed.  
  
And what a _gigantic_ bed it was, but both women occupying it were cuddled in the middle as close together as they could be. There was a lot of space by either side of them but Mia didn't want to pick one. She also didn't want to wiggle herself between them because she didn't want to risk waking the two women up. She looked at the foot of the bed. Maggie didn't come even close to reaching it and there were a few centimetres between Alex's socked feet peeking out of the sheets and the end of the bed. Mia climbed there as quietly as she could, curled into a ball and tucked her Supergirl doll under her chin.  
  
The smell of the bed immediately wrapped around her like a protective blanket, the mix of Alex and Maggie's scent calming her down almost instantly and in a few minutes she was graced by a dreamless sleep.

 

-

 

Alex's throat was as dry as a desert so she got up to get herself something to drink, probably orange juice, her favourite midnight treat. She walked down her room steps and into the kitchen with bleary eyes.  
  
When she was almost finished drinking her cup of orange juice she noticed a weird silhouette at the foot of her bed that she had completely overlooked when she got up. Her instincts kicked in and her first thoughts were to grab her gun and investigate it but that's when she saw that the couch in her living room was empty.  
  
But even so, Alex put her glass down and still approached the bed carefully but relaxed completely when she confirmed that the lump at the end of her bed was indeed Mia.  
  
The little girl was shivering in her sleep, the midnight breeze hitting her full force because she wasn't under any quilts or sheets.  
  
Alex walked back up the small steps to her bed and sneaked one arm under Mia's knees and the other around her back, scooting her up and putting her down properly next to Maggie. The kid scooted closer to the Detective, both still sound asleep and Mia still holding her Supergirl doll.  
  
Alex frowned. When she'd picked Mia up she'd felt the back of her shirt to be slightly damp. She worriedly tugged the sleeves of her pyjamas, wondering if she should wake the kid up and ask if she'd had a nightmare and if she wanted to talk about it but Mia was now sleeping so soundly next to Maggie that she didn't want to disturb that picture of peacefulness.  
  
At least not yet. Whatever it was it could be talked about in the morning if the little girl was up to it so Alex got back into the bed as slowly and as quietly as she could, mentally kicking herself every time the mattress groaned.  
  
It took her a while to fall back asleep, her mind occupying itself with concern towards Mia but soon Maggie and the kid's rhythmic soft breathing and her own tiredness lulled her to sleep.

-

  
Alex woke up the next morning with a tiny hand splayed across her stomach. Maggie was still asleep, another tiny hand grabbing the hem of her shirt while the Supergirl doll lays forgotten next to her.  
  
She got up slowly to not disturb the girls in her bed and went to the bathroom to take care of her morning needs and then busied herself with making coffee.  
  
Maggie hated early mornings and sometimes she hated that Alex loved them so much but that also meant that breakfast was ready (sometimes a little scorched but nothing inedible) when she woke up so she really couldn't complain.  
  
She fought her heavy eyelids and slowly got them to open and was surprised to see a peaceful sleeping child next to her. She also noticed a tiny hand gripping the hem of her sleep shirt. Maggie had no idea when that had happened but then again, she was known to be a heavy sleeper.  
  
The smell of recently brewed coffee was coming from the kitchen and that did manage to make her more alert. She tried to get out of the bed very slowly but Mia must've felt the change of weight in the bed and her eyes shot open. Maggie was startled by that for a second because she had momentarily forgotten the kid had different eye colours.  
  
"Oh, hey there. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."  
  
Mia didn't seem to bothered about that. She smiled sleepily and touched Maggie's cheek, earning her a returned smile.  
  
"Good morning, kid."  
  
Mia blinked slowly, a smile still decorating her small face and Maggie could see that that was her way of saying good morning back to her.  
  
Mia let her hand fall and it landed on Maggie's neck, accidentally making her shiver.  
  
Mia's eyes went wide and she quickly withdrew her hand, worried she'd hurt the Detective. Maggie noticed the concern and was quick to ease it.  
  
"That's _tickling_ , honey. It doesn't really hurt, it just makes people laugh really hard. It's harmless."  
  
"Don't let her fool you, it's definitely _not_ harmless when she does it."  
  
The girls looked at the bottom of the bed where Alex was, grinning at them now that she knew they were both awake.  
  
"You deserved it."  
  
"It was one cookie!" answered Maggie, realising Alex was referring to their last tickle fight.  
  
"It was the LAST cookie!"  
  
Mia giggled at the women and their silly bickering, which made Maggie's attention go back to her and she gently tickled the kid who was quickly laughing hard and squirming.  
  
Alex stood where she was, at the foot of the bed, looking at the scene. She would never have thought she would have a morning like this. A few months ago, the only laughter that happened in this apartment was when Kara stopped by, and that didn't happen much as Alex preferred to just always drop by her sister's apartment instead.  
  
Now her girlfriend and a child were laughing in her bed. She really couldn't believe her eyes and ears but she loved it.  
  
Once Mia was confident enough she wasn't hurting the Detective, she attempted some revenge by tickling her back.  
  
Maggie smiled at how trusting Mia was becoming with them and soon she raised both her hands up. "I surrender!" She playfully messed the child's already messed up hair. "Now go brush your teeth, you tickle monster. You're spending the day with Kara and she'll drop by to pick you up soon."  
  
Mia looked a little unsettled by this news but she did get off the bed and hurried to the bathroom.  
  
Maggie looked up to Alex who was approaching her end of the bed.  
  
"'Morning, babe."  
  
"Mmm" hummed Alex, when she bent down to press a gentle kiss to Maggie's forehead.  
  
"Did something happen?" she asked with a low voice, motioning to the forgotten Supergirl doll.  
  
"Oh, I think she had a nightmare. I woke up in the middle of the night to get something to drink and I found her at the foot of our bed. I settled her between us so she wouldn't get cold."  
  
Maggie didn't like the idea of Mia having a nightmare but she couldn't help but smile. " _Our_ bed?"  
  
Alex blushed. "Well... Yeah. Our bed. If you want... I mean... You don't- Yeah..."  
  
Mia walked back from the bathroom at that moment, her chin full of toothpaste.  
  
Maggie decided to give Alex a minute to unfreeze her brain and walked up to the kid. "You go something there." She cleaned up her face and bopped her nose. "You've already changed out of your jammies! Good job, kid!  
  
The little girl stuck her chin up in a clearly cheeky expression and Maggie couldn't help but wonder what else was there to learn about this tiny human being. Was Mia funny? Sarcastic? Was she a joker? Would they even get to know her?  
  
Her trail of thoughts were interrupted by Alex wreaking havoc on her... (their?) wardrobe.  
  
"Mags? Hey, Maggie have you seen my black undershirt? I can't find it anywhere!"  
  
"Sorry, babe, I haven't seen it."  
  
Mia calmly walked up next to the tall woman, opened one of the drawers and pulled out something. She smiled proudly and wordlessly offered Alex the shirt she had been looking for.  
  
The Agent stared at the shirt dumbfounded and Mia started worrying that she'd stepped over some invisible boundaries or something but Maggie laughed softly, joining them and pinched the kid's cheek playfully.  
  
"Seems like you have a knack for finding things, eh little girl?"  
  
Mia shrugged.  
  
"When is Kara coming to pick Mia up?" asked the Detective.  
  
They heard a whoosh from the general direction of the balcony and then Maggie swore she heard a " _Oh, right, the door_." And a few seconds later the doorbell rang.  
  
"I guess now." said Alex, rolling her eyes.  
  
She ran to open the door and immediately had a handful of food packages.  
  
"Hey, guys! I got us breakfast!"  
  
"Us? Or an entire football team?"  
  
Kara looked over to Alex who was trying to hold the six brown bags without letting them fall to the floor.  
  
"Oh! Don't worry, five of those are for me."  
  
Maggie helped Alex set the brown bags at the counter and heard Alex whisper ' _Of course they are_ ' before Kara snatched one of the bags back from her and ate an entire scone in one bite.  
  
As a greeting, the blonde offered a pink sprinkled donut to Mia, who took it happily. She messily ate it, getting icing all over her cheeks and around her mouth.  
  
"Oh my god, you're so adorable! I'm gonna take a picture of you, okay?"  
  
Mia nodded, not really knowing what a picture was.  
  
Kara whipped out her phone but giggled when the kid kept on chewing her donut and smiling. "Honey, you have to stop moving because it's a picture, not a gif."  
  
Mia looked at her like she had suddenly spoken in ancient Greek.  
  
"It doesn't record movement." she explained better.  
  
"Kara, you know it's pronounced _jif_." pointed out Alex, annoyed.  
  
"It's fucking gif. Get yourself together, babe." whispered Maggie. Alex snorted and started rambling on about why jif was the correct pronunciation of the word while Maggie nodded ironically and waited for her to finish for her to say "Anyways it's gif."  
  
Alex rolled her eyes but turned towards her sister, who was probably taking the 100th picture of Mia on her phone.  
  
"Kara."  
  
"Mmm, yeah?" she asked, distracted.  
  
"Don't you have to go?"  
  
Kara looked at her confused for a second and then she checked her watch and jumped up so fast she almost floated. "Oh, Rao! C'mon, little Mia! Off to an adventure!"  
  
The little girl swallowed the last bit of her donut and turned to look at Alex with wide eyes.  
  
"Hey, don't worry. We'll pick you up at Kara's place after work."  
  
Mia ran up to where Alex and Maggie were and hugged their legs. She tugged their hands. "Promise?"  
  
"Promise." they answered at the same time.

 

-

  
CatCo was a tall building with lots of glass windows that scared Mia at first. There were a lot of people there and some of them came around to greet Kara and noticing her tiny companion, gush about how cute she was.  
  
Mia got closer to Kara, feeling shy and awkward.  
  
"Okay, um, we're gonna go meet my boss. She might come across as a little scary but don't be scared because she actually has a heart of gold."  
  
Mia still looked very scared but tried to hide it when Kara opened the big glass door to her boss' office.  
  
A small blonde woman was standing in front of her desk, her back to them, busy with something.  
  
"Miss Grant? I-"  
  
"Good, Kiera you're here. Are you finished on that report of those aliens owning a restaurant? Because I would like to see it on my desk by the end of the day."  
  
"Oh... Um, no, not yet. But I'm gonna finish it today, I swear! I just, uh- I wanted to introduce you to someone."  
  
Cat didn't turn around, too busy sorting out some papers on her desk, and after waiting briefly Kara tugged the little girl's shirt. "Mia, this is my boss, Cat Grant."  
  
Mia frowned. " _Gata_?"  
  
Curious, miss Grant finally turned back to look at the small human."Now now, dear. I know that my beauty is indeed stricking but there's no need to go around saying it. I'm not _just_ a pretty face."  
  
"You understood what she said?" asked Kara, surprised.  
  
"Of course, Keira. I spent some time with Gisele Bündchen, the Brazilian supermodel, so of course I know what ' _gata_ ' means. Men would scream it at her direction everywhere she went like the wild ducks they can be. Literally _catcall_ her, if you take it that way."  
  
"I don't think she meant-" Kara trailed off when she saw that Kat wasn't really paying attention.  
  
Looking down, she noticed that Mia looked baffled by the Queen of all Media but also mildly entertained and she took that as a good sign.  
  
Mia, on the other hand, wanted to tell Kara that she was pretty because they had thought she told the Cat lady that and of course she was but if she were to give that compliment to someone she would give it to Kara first. But the moment was gone and she got shy.  
  
"You haven't told me what this child is doing here yet, Keira." stated Cat, fixing her lipstick.  
  
"Oh, right! Um, Mia is the cousin of a... Friend of mine... She had a... Very important thing to do today and asked me to look after her... Is that going to be a problem, Miss Grant?"  
  
"We are not babysitters, Kiera. We're reporters."  
  
Kara worriedly fixed her glasses. "I know, I know but Miss Grant she's really a great kid and she won't cause any trouble and uh... She can even help you with your interview!"  
  
"How can this child help me with my very important interview?"  
  
"She's uh- She's kind of... What you're gonna be talking about... A little bit, um-" Kara trailed off, not knowing how to word this.  
  
Cat scanned the little girl, who was curiously staring at the woman's desk, and a flash of understanding crossed her features.  
  
"Okay. Until then, just keep the little elf out of my sight and it should be fine. Keep an eye on it so it won't wonder back to the Shire."  
  
"Hobbit." corrected Kara.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Hobbits are little, elves are tall. And they are the ones who live in the Shire. Elves live at Rivendell and-"  
  
"Whatever. I don't have time to watch something as long as _Lord of the Rings_. Lasts longer than a marriage."

-

  
At first Mia hung around with Kara in her tiny office but then she got up and started walking around the place. Kara didn't stop her but kept an eye (or more accurately, two x ray vision adept eyes) on the little girl.  
  
She wished James was around; he was great with children, but he was out doing some photography work for their next cover.  
  
Mia stared through one of the glass walls of the building, taking in the city skyline. It was so vast and full of tall buildings and people. It didn't make her scared anymore. Mia's brain was a giant question mark, her memories felt like they were locked away behind a very heavy, scary door but the kid didn't think she ever saw that many people before in her life. She didn't think she'd seen many places either. From that height all the humans looked like tiny dots and the cars looked ever smaller than her Hotweels and everything seemed possible. She got even closer to the glass, letting the tip of her nose touch it. Her hot breath fogged up the cool glass and she started drawing random patterns in it.  
  
She did this for a while. She could feel the CatCo staff staring at her sometimes but drawing patterns on the fogged glass was soothing and she wasn't all that bothered by it.  
  
Mia didn't know how much time had passed when she felt Kara nudge her gently.  
  
"Hey, Mia. Miss Grant wants your help with something. Would you be okay to help her?"  
  
The little girl nodded but frowned. She didn't know how she could help the Cat lady. Kara caught her unsure look.  
  
"Don't worry, you don't have to do anything, just... Be yourself."  
  
"But I _dunno_ who I am."  
  
Kara felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She got to her knees and held Mia's shoulders gently.  
  
"That's okay. Most of us are still figuring that out too."  
  
The little girl took in what the blonde said.  
  
"But if you get uncomfortable for even a second, you can come out of the room. I'll be in my office. Just ask anyone to get me and I'll come to you in a second, okay?"  
  
Mia nodded. "' _Kay_."

She walked to the glass office of the blonde Cat lady, who looked up to greet her.  
  
"Oh hello, little hobbit. Make yourself at home, just not too much. You are going to help me see if a man is worth my time."  
  
The kid nodded again and soon her attention was caught by a bowl of colourful round things that she remembered were sweets called " _M &M's_". She didn't really know what the M's stood for but they were actually pretty delicious.  
  
From her peripheral vision she saw a man enter the room. He was very tall, his dark hair cut short and his suit and tie pristine. He may tower over tiny miss Grant but the lady's presence made up for her petite frame. Mia wouldn't be surprised if the president walked into this office and knew that Cat Grant was in charge.  
  
"Hello, miss Grant. Thank you for seeing me."  
  
"Mister O'Connor, it's not always that people learn about future topics that we'll use on the next issues and contact us to talk about it. Please have a seat."  
  
The man sat down, opening his suit jacket. He has an arrogant aura surrounding him that was way different from Cat's confident aura.  
  
"I contacted your office because I think that what I work with would do a great service for your readers if included in the next issue."  
  
Cat nodded for him to go on and Mia busied herself with dropping M&M's loudly into the bowl. He quickly and proudly introduced himself and praised Cat's work on the media empire. Mia could feel in his voice that he wasn't really impressed by the woman, he simply wanted something from her and thought that complimenting her would be the quickest way of getting that.  
  
All the while, the kid kept playing with the sweets. Cat didn't seem bothered at all by the tipping noise and the restless child. The man however, kept casting sideway glances at the curious little girl, looking more and more annoyed at every second.  
  
"Ma'am, does the kid have to be here for this?"  
  
"This girl is my personal assistant for the day, mister O'Connor. If you're so distracted why don't you just play with one of your toys?"  
  
The man's face went red and opened his mouth to continue his monologue but Cat wasn't done.  
  
"I've been informed that you're the owner of a fidget toys factory. Our next issue will include topics focused on neurodivergent children and what the media could do to show them positive roles to help them see themselves and give them a voice because they're so poorly represented. How do you think that you and your toy company fit in that and what do you think you can offer to complement our next issue?"  
  
The man cleared his throat.  
  
"Well, I know it's not _exactly_ the topic your magazine will be discussing. I mean, you run a media empire. Toys don't exactly fit there but I did some basic research and apparently fidget toys helps children with attention disorders or, you know, autism, to pay better attention to what we're saying and they stim less which helps them act more normal. So, if you could include a brief mention about our work and our products in your next issue it would help to spread the word."  
  
Mia immediately stopped dropping M &M's.  
  
"Help them act more _normal_?" asked Cat, getting up from the sofa.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. I'm sympathetic to their cause. I just want to help them fit it." answered the man, also getting up.  
  
"Their _cause_."  
  
"I'm sorry Miss Grant, I don't understand why you're repeating what I say."  
  
"I'm just flabbergasted by your lack of empathy and overall... Morals."  
  
" _Excuse me_?"  
  
Before miss Grant could come up with an amazing answer, the tiny child was suddenly standing in front of her.  
  
"You're a rude man." blurted out Mia, her tiny fists balled up.  
  
A brief silence filled the room. The man stared at the little girl with a displeased expression and Cat looked downright amused by Mia's interjection.  
  
"Well I couldn't've said it better. I _could_ have said it with more expletives but they probably wouldn't be PG."  
  
"Ma'am-"  
  
"No, if you want to keep selling your little toys to neurotypical children, that's fine. I don't have a problem with that. But I'm not going to include you in our issue and put you on a pedestal as this selfless entrepreneur do-gooder that cares about neurodivergent kids. You're only interested on the recent popularity of fidget spinners. You're only a greedy capitalist that sees an amazing opportunity here. But if you want me to make you a hero to the neurodivergent community you're going to come out of here empty handed."  
  
The man's face went even redder and he angrily closed the button of his jacket and walked out without another word.  
  
After the man was out of their sight, Cat Grant sat back down at her sofa and looked at the girl.  
  
"You were a good partner today, little human."  
  
Mia was frowning. She wasn't sure she understood what had happened but she didn't think she'd helped miss Grant with anything. "But he was angry with us."  
  
"He was." confirmed the blonde.  
  
Mia felt a pang in her heart. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make him angry but he was mean."  
  
"Oh no, honey. Men don't like when us girls are better than them, disagree with them or don't give them what they want. That tends to be a problem and we have to fight it every day but I see you've got some spirit in you."  
  
"I don't know what that means."  
  
"It means that I believe that you're destined for great things."  
  
Mia smiled. She knew that she didn't understand much about people yet but she knew one thing about this woman.  
  
"I like you. You're clever." said Mia simply, as if pointing out the sky is blue.  
  
"See? Now we're getting better with the compliments." Cat booped her nose playfully and Mia grinned. "Now enough serious talk. Who's hungry?"  
  
She made a signal for her assistant to approach.  
  
"Get me a salad. Doesn't matter which one as long as it comes with a big juicy stake on top." Cat looked at Mia. "Actually, make that two. Someone has to feed this thin little human."

 

-

  
  
Cats assistant arrived with the food only fifteen minutes later, looking out of breath. Mia thanked her and when the assistant left, the kid looked at the steak. It was a big thing. It looked and smelled like it would taste incredible and she felt herself salivate. She was about to pick it up with her own hands and bite it when she saw Cat cutting the thing. She used the fork to steady it and the knife to slice it, making delicate and precise back and forth movements with her wrists.  
  
She tried mimicking the woman. She picked the fork with her left hand and the knife with her right one. They felt heavy and too big. She tried positioning them the way Cat was doing but she only managed to fumble with the cutlery awkwardly in her tiny hands. She tried switching hands. The result was the same except this time a metallic _clink_ was heard when she dropped the knife on the table.  
  
She was hungry and frustrated. Her cheeks started to burn in embarrassment. She felt like throwing the metal eating instruments the farthest she could and she even thought she felt the cutlery vibrating on her hands but the idea went away quickly as she realised it might hit and hurt somebody. She didn't want that. They stopped vibrating. Maybe it had been just her imagination.  
  
Cat seemed to have noticed Mia's dilemma. She threw the knife aside and jabbed her fork unceremoniously on the leftover stake on her plate, turned it upside down and held it like a campfire marshmallow, not that Mia knew what those were. She stared at Cat for a minute.  
  
"Well, go on. That stake is not going to eat itself."  
  
Mia tried reading Cat's face but found no sign that the lady was mocking her so she did the same. She felt both surprise and glee when it worked. She took an eager bite and relished on the taste. It hadn't even been three minutes later and she'd eaten the whole thing. After that, she slurped down her milkshake in record time and couldn't contain a belch.  
  
"I'll take _that_ as a sign that you liked your lunch." said Cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from " _On Top of The World_ " by Imagine Dragons.
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to all the kids like me who struggle to see themselves represented in any form of media.
> 
> " _Gata_ " means "cat" in portuguese.
> 
> Mia fumbling with cutlery is based on me having trouble with them too. I also don't like touching metal so most of my spoons are plastic. I know my best friend doesn't read this because she's too busy studying to become a doctor (I love you, you giant nerd), but thank you for the times you cut something for me on my plate because you noticed I was struggling. Thanks for letting me hold onto you instead of metal railings too.
> 
> -
> 
> One day after my birthday, Netflix posted the show "Atypical" about an autistic boy and I considered a birthday gift and a few months later we were graced with the premiere of an amazing new show: "The Good Doctor" about a surgical intern who's autistic and has Savant Syndrome.  
> I have never had such representation ( _ever_ ) and it means... well it means _everything_. If you're interested in learning a bit more about the autism spectrum give both shows a try (Atypical got renewed for series two and TGD got picked up for a full series).  
>  Even if you're not really interested on the autism world, try The Good Doctor. I can't begin to say how good this show is. Also Freddie Highmore is fantastic.
> 
> Here's a little info for ya'll: Mia's birthday is the same as mine. Also I have a surprise for you guys on the next chapter! If you like supercorp you'll love it.
> 
> As always, comments are deeply appreciated and thoroughly begged but if you want to talk to me on tumblr, ask any questions or tell me about that delicious steak you had this week, please drop by! I'm always there:
> 
> http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com
> 
>  PS: vegetarians/vegans please don't murder me.  
> UPDATE:  
> Because I have way too much time on my hands and because I like music I made a Spotify playlist with all the songs featured in this fic. Not only Title songs but all the ones that are mentioned or used on the story. If yall wanna give it a listen:  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/12145297170/playlist/44fQosAxDwVN1AYFF2DcJu
> 
>  
> 
> UPDATE 2:  
> I learnt how to gif! Here's my supergirl gifsets tag if you want to check it out:  
> http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com/tagged/supergirledit


	10. Pop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Alex and Maggie are... _busy_... Mia spends the day with Kara. A surprise visit from Lena leads to cookie-baking goodness and overall a Good Time.
> 
> Featuring: a kitchen Disaster™, dancing to old pop songs and adorable moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> " _Do you ever wonder why_  
>  _This music gets you high?_  
>  _It takes you on a ride_  
>  _Feel it when your body_  
>  _Starts to rock_  
>  _(Your body starts to rock)_  
>  _Baby you can't stop_  
>  _(You can't stop)_  
>  _And the music's all you got_  
>  _Come on now_  
>  _This must be, pop_ "
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to all Supercorp shippers, wlw fans of the show and anyone who felt hurt by what happened at SDCC this year. It was actually written right after that but I was on hiatus.  
> Keep being you, loving what and who you love and remember that you're valid.
> 
> No content warnings apply.

After a couple hours Kara dropped by Cat's office and saw Mia spinning in Cat's chair. Her eyes went wide and she hurried towards her to get her off her boss' chair but Cat was at her sofa in the middle of a phone call looking completely unbothered. 

"Kiera, the president scheduled a meeting with  _moi_. James will have to hold on the fort while I'm gone. Again." Cat announced. 

"James will be great. He always is. Um, actually I'm just picking Mia up. I'm clocking out and it's time to take her... home." 

Cat nodded, getting up and pocketing her phone. 

"I've fed her. We have annoyed the opposite sex and the child discovered the wonders of office chairs. My work here is done." 

"Oh... I'm sorry about her sitting on your chair." 

"I'm perfectly capable of sitting elsewhere, Kiera." pointed out Cat, rolling her eyes. 

"Of- Of course! Um, c'mon Mia. Time to go home." 

The little girl got up, a little woozy from spinning on Cat's chair so much. She joined Kara and turned around to wave at miss Grant. 

"Bye,  _Gata_." 

Kara opened her mouth to hastily correct the little girl but she was surprised to see Cat smile and wink at the child. 

"Goodbye, little hobbit." 

They made their way out of the building and into the busy streets without talking and Kara was again surprised by Mia when the kid grabbed onto two of her fingers. Her hand was so small that a couple of fingers was as much as it could wrap around. It was a warm little hand and Kara kept herself in check at all times so she wouldn't put any more pressure than what Mia was offering with contact. 

The girls had walked only a block before Mia stopped dead on her tracks. 

" _Whatsthat_?" asked the child, pointing at the giant billboard. 

Kara looked up and saw the gigantic picture of a raven-haired woman with the word " _WONDER_ " written. 

"That's the poster of the new Wonder Woman movie." 

"Wow." Kara could've sworn that the kid's eyes were shining. " _Wass'er_ _na_ _me_?" 

"Oh, that's Diana, Princess of Themiscyra." 

Mia's eyes flashed with a memory of warm dark brown eyes but she thought she was just imagining things so she just shook her head and kept walking besides Kara. 

The little girl stopped again after they walked around the block. Kara looked around for more Wonder Woman posters but what had gotten Mia's attention was far simpler than that. 

It was a tree. Purple flowers were blossoming in it. Mia absentmindedly raised a hand as if to touch the flower but she was way too short to reach it. 

"Can I pick you up?" asked Kara, smiling. 

Mia nodded eagerly. 

"Actually, I have a better idea. Wanna sit on my shoulders?" 

Mia nodded again and Kara knelt down so the child could put her legs around the back of her neck. She got up slowly and felt Mia yelp and grab the blonde's locks almost painfully. 

"Don't worry, don't worry. You're not going to fall. I got ya. " 

Mia's death grip loosened and she reached her arms forward to the closest purple flower, her little fingers wrapping around it carefully and Kara watched as she gently caressed the petals as if feeling the texture. The superhero briefly wondered if Mia had ever seen or touched a flower before. Kara also noticed that unlike other children, she didn't pluck the flower away from the tree. She just held it almost reverently. 

" _Predd_ _y_." Kara heard Mia whisper. 

"It is, isn't it?" 

"Like you." The kid pointed out, lowering her hands and patting the woman's hair. 

Kara's heart melted. "Awww, Mia. Thank you. You are very pretty yourself." 

The woman made to kneel down so Mia could get out of her shoulders but Mia tugged at Kara's shirt collar. " _Cannistayhee_?" 

"Sure! But you gotta gimme your hands so I can hold you better." 

Mia offered thin arms and Kara gently held them. They walked the rest of the way like that. 

 

- 

 

Kara gently put Mia down from her shoulders when they were at her apartment's door and opened it. 

"So... This is my apartment! You can check it out if you want." 

But the kid didn't seem very prone to move around, exploring it. She was standing next to the door blinking heavily. The blonde noticed that she was taking a little longer to get accustomed to the new environment. Her appartment was a lot brighter than her sister's and where Alex's was minimalist, hers was brimming with life, colour and the amount of new information was overwhelming to the little girl. 

Of course Kara understood what it felt like to have sensory overload so she decided to give her a little time to adjust.  

"Hey, why don't you draw little bit while I take a quick shower?" she asked, handing Mia paper and some coloured pencils. 

The kid looked at her confused, her eyebrows knitting together but she nodded. 

Kara allowed herself to relax in a quick but warm shower and then changed into an old *NSYNC shirt, putting a blue jumper on top and slipped into her favourite old joggers that she was sure had like five holes but she didn't really care since she wasn't going to leave her house for the rest of the day. 

She found Mia kneeling besides the coffee table. 

"Sooo, what did you draw?" 

Mia looked up with the same confused expression as before. Kara looked down at the table and saw that the kid had set the paper on the table and lined up the coloured pencils on top of them organised by their hue. 

"Oh, okay..."  

Mia looked startled as if wondering she'd done something wrong so Kara quickly smiled at her. "It looks beautiful, Mia. Very, um, aesthetically pleasing." 

She snapped a picture and saved it to send it to Alex later. Pocketing her phone again, she looked at the child. She was sitting and staring unmoving at the organised coloured pencils as if trying to spot one that was out of hue order. 

Kara scratched her head, trying to think of something to do with Mia to pass the time until Alex and Maggie dropped by to pick her up. 

Maybe a movie? Alex said she loved movies. Or maybe she could read a book to her... Did Mia know how to read? She could teach her... 

She was about to ask the kid that when the bell rang and she jumped up, startled. Mia barely moved, still staring at her masterpiece. 

Kara pulled her glasses down so she could scan the door. Alex had briefed her about how the little girl ended up on Earth and how she could still be in danger, but when she saw who was at her door, she almost tripped trying to get there as fast as she could. That attracted Mia's attention and curiosity. 

She flung the door open with so much strength she almost took it off its hinges. 

"Heeeeeey... Lena!" was what she said but what she thought was _'I'm not wearing a bra'_. 

The raven-haired woman flashed the blonde with a 1000-megawatt smile. 

"Kara! I'm sorry I didn't say anything about coming here but I was about to check this new restaurant and I found out they serve potstickers so I instantly thought of you. What do you say? Want to come and check it out with me? You can even update your " _Best_ _Potstickers_ _of National City_ " Instagram that you pretend you don't manage but I know you do." 

Kara's stomach growled at every mention of potstickers but she knew she couldn't go out at that moment. 

"Oh, dang! I wish I could, I  _so_ do but um... I actually.... I-I can't- I can't leave right now. I have a...  _Thing_." 

Kara cast a sideways glance to Mia, who was still looking at her curiously. When she looked back at Lena, the CEO was blushing slightly.  

"Oh! If you have someone there, you don't have to be embarrassed. I can come back later. No need to put the sock on the doorknob." 

"What?!  _No_! It's not that!" Kara bit her lip. "Okay, fine, come on in." 

"I don't have to if you-" started Lena, but Kara tugged her inside the apartment and closed the door behind her. 

"Kara, really, I can leave if you have someone over-" Lena's eyes finally focused on Mia. She blinked twice. "Is that... a  _child_?" 

"Yeah, uh... That's- That is Mia." Kara fidgeted with her glasses. "I'm kinda babysitting for Alex and Maggie." 

"Your sister and her girlfriend have a kid?" asked Lena, confused, trying to remember if Kara had ever mentioned being an aunt. 

"Oh, no. Mia is uh... Maggie's... She's Maggie's... c-cousin." 

"Right." said Lena, a little unsure. She scanned Kara's frantic face. "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?" 

Kara worried her lip. "I don't know how to entertain her! I don't wanna be a boring aunt. No, no! I wanna be the cool aunt! No, better: I wanna be the  _coolest_ aunt! Like the one that always has sweets to give you and you always have a good time with her." 

"Well, do you have sweets?" 

Kara bit her lip again, this time looking guilty. "I ate them all." 

Lena smiled. "Of course you did." 

"Why don't we make cookies? This way you can make sure that she has a good time  _and_ something sweet to eat." 

Kara's belly grumbled again. Cookies were not potstickers but well, they were  _cookies_. 

"Excellent idea, miss Luthor." she said, playfully. "Just... Let me introduce you to Mia. She can be... Um, very shy." 

Both women approached the back of the sofa. Mia was now staring at them, a little taken aback. 

"Mia, um, this is... This is my...  _Best friend_. Do you wanna come meet her?" 

Mia got up from the floor and approached the two women carefully, looking at their shoes (or just socks, in Kara's case). The blonde didn't mind that the kid wasn't making eye contact. She still pointed at Lena and smiled. 

"This is Lena Luthor. She's really nice so you don't have to be scared, okay?" 

" _She's_ _yo_ _fwiend_." 

"Yes she is." 

" _Uhm_ _m_  not  _scahh_ of her, then." she said simply and headed to the bathroom, remembering the rout Kara had taken to get there and shower earlier. 

"That went well." point out Kara, half surprised. 

Lena nodded. "Is she British?" 

"What, Mia? No, she's... Brazilian... I think... Why?" 

Lena raised an eyebrow at the "I think" but didn't comment. "She has a British accent." 

"She does?" 

Lena raised one perfect eyebrow. "Yes. Have you never talked to her before?" 

"Oh, uh... She didn't really talk.... Much or even at all. I guess she's getting used to me so she's talking a little more." Kara fixed her glasses. "I probably should tell you, um, she's-" 

"Autistic." 

Kara stopped fidgeting with her glasses and looked at the other woman, questioningly. Lena shrugged. 

"Sometimes I visit the  _Luthor's Children Hospital_  and there's this boy, Matty. He's on the transplant list for a new heart and he's a non-verbal autistic kid. There's also this little girl, Danny who's got cancer and she's on the autism spectrum." 

"Oh... Do you visit there a lot?" 

"Not as much as I wished. I have so much work at LCorp but whenever I find the time I'm there." 

Kara smiled. "That's really nice, Lena. If you ever want company, you know, you can always call me." 

She thought she saw Lena blush. 

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." 

When Mia walked back to the living room, the women told her their idea of making cookies. Lena was slightly taken aback when she noticed that the kid didn't seem to know what  _cookies_ were but still looked excited. 

Kara gathered the supplies needed on the counter and Lena helped her pick up some necessary bowls and spoons. 

It started out great. Mia watched intently as the women mixed some ingredients in a big bowl, perched up on a chair with a pillow on it to help her reach the things she needed. 

"Hey, Mia, could you hand me that bag of flour, please?" Asked Kara, pointing at an open bag close to Mia's end. 

Mia leaned forward and lost her balance slightly, fumbling with the bag and dropping it on the counter. A giant cloud of white powder puffed around her and the entire kitchen looked like a scene from a Christmas movie. When the powder finally settled down, they could see that the kid looked like a ghost. 

Only her eyes showed some colour but they kind of looked like golden and green balls floating on a white sheet. 

"Oh Ra- my God!" exclaimed Kara. 

Mia's eyes went even wider and her bottom lip wobbled. "I'm so so-" she sneezed, "-rry." 

"Oh no, darling, it's okay, I um..." whatever Kara was going to say to reassure the kid was swallowed by a huge explosion of laughter when both her and Lena just couldn't keep it together anymore. 

The little girl felt reassured that the two women weren't mad at her and she didn't feel like crying anymore. Actually, soon their laughter became so contagious that she joined them. 

Mia's clothes were ruined so after the cookies were put in the over, Kara helped her out of them, cleaned her face and arms and picked her smallest shirt to serve as a dress for the kid but when she said that the little girl shook her head and said it was not a dress but a  _Toga_ and she stuck one of her arms out of the neck hole, making the shirt fall sideways like an ancient Greek's dressings. Kara tied one of her belt's around Mia's midriff to keep the shirt from falling. 

They set a timer for the cookies and moved back to the living room and Kara put on her Spotify playlist on shuffle except her playlist was like 80%  _*NSYNC_  but Mia seemed to like it so she let it play. 

The little girl would go up and down at every " _bye_ " and Kara and Lena couldn't help but laugh and dance with her. At one point Mia pushed Kara gently forward so she would dance with Lena and watched with a proud (and a little cheeky) expression when the two women complied.  

When the timer finally went off Mia sang " _Co_ _co_ _co_ _cookies_!" To the rhythm of " _bye_ _bye_ _bye_ " and Kara almost doubled over with laughter. It was just too damn adorable. 

Lena got the cookie tray out of the oven while Kara turned down the music to a pleasant background noise and picked some things to decorate the goodies. 

They got some orange juice and sat at the table once it was cool enough to not be a danger to the child and the women engaged in lightheaded chitchat while Mia looked 100% focused on throwing  _all_ the sprinkles she could in one cookie. They thought the girl wasn't paying any mind to their conversation but when Lena mentioned to Kara that the CEO of another company and his assistant were rude to her when she offered a collaboration in an app that would reduce the number of car crashes, Mia's head snapped up. 

"Why were people not nice to you?" 

"Oh, um... Because I'm a Luthor." 

 " _Wassad_ mean?" the kid asked, tilting her head like a confused puppy. Kara thought the action looked remarkably like something Maggie would do and she smiled softly. 

"It means, darling, that people think I'm evil." 

 " _Butya_ not." the little girl pointed out, looking even more confused. Lena's heart jumped when she heard Mia say that without hesitance, without a shadow of doubt and having known her for just a few hours.  

"You are your own person." Mia said. Both women stared at her surprised. It felt like she was quoting something or someone without realising. 

"My last name carries all the weight of the evil things that my family did and it's a bit hard to avoid it." explained Lena. 

"Oh, I don't have a last name." The kid said, nonchalantly. 

Kara choked on her orange juice while Lena looked at them, puzzled. The blonde was saved by the bell of explaining it when the CEO's phone buzzed with a text message. 

"Sorry ladies but I got to go now. Work calls." she said after checking it. She was required in the office. 

Mia pouted. "Will I see you again?"  

Lena ruffled the little girl's hair. "I sure hope so. You and Kara are always welcome at LCorp. That's where I work. If you ever want to visit, simply drop by and Jess will let you in." 

The kid raised her arm, offering a cookie to Lena. This one was decorated with a smiling sun. 

"Oh, so I get a to-go cookie?" asked the raven-haired woman, beaming. 

Mia nodded, grinning. 

Kara walked Lena to the door and hugged her, mumbling a " _thank you_ ". 

Lena waved it off. "Just don't let her get into a food coma." 

Kara laughed. "I won't." 

"And don't get into one yourself." 

The superhero flashed a toothy smile. "Can't promise you thaaat." 

Lena shook her head amusedly and left, wishing she could've stayed longer. 

Kara turned back to the little girl who was pouting slightly.  

"Hey, no pouty-face! We got cookies to eat! Besides, we'll see Lena again, okay?" 

Mia gave in when Kara tickled her. They jumped into the couch with a bowl of freshly baked and decorated cookies. The girls spent the rest of the afternoon eating them, drinking orange juice and watching some random documentary about cats on tv until Mia started snoozing. 

The blonde gently smoothed the little girl's wild hair and wished her good dreams. 

 

-

 

Kara heard keys jiggling and her door being opened. She didn't even have to look to know that Alex and Maggie had arrived, she recognised their steps. The superhero turned off the tv and got up from the couch slowly to not startle Mia. 

But when she looked behind her, Mia was already up and smiling wide. She ran past Kara and hugged Alex and Maggie's legs. 

"Ally! Ma!" 

"Hey, kid did you have fun?" Asked Alex, bending down and smiling at the tiny girl. 

Mia nodded enthusiastically. "We made cookies with Kara's Maggie." 

Alex frowned. "' _Kara's Maggie_ _'_?" 

"Yeah! You've your Maggie and Kara has hers too! But she's tall and not a police officer. Oh! And she has green eyes like mine. Except  _both_ of them are green." she pointed out as if that was such a wild detail, having both eyes be the same colour. 

Alex's eyes sparkled and she grinned. " _Green eyes_ , huh?" 

She cast a sideways glance to Kara, who was blushing. 

"Lena stopped by." 

Maggie smirk matched Alex's. 

"Mmm Mmm." 

"It was her idea to make cookies." said the blonde. 

"I'm surprised you three managed not to burn the house down." joked Alex. 

Kara raised one eyebrow. "Look who's talking." 

"She's right, babe. We've gone through like... Four fire alarms because you insist on throwing them away instead of just shutting them off." said Maggie, petting Mia's hair. 

"They're annoying little things." mumbled Alex. 

Maggie snorted. Mia tugged her hand, intent on showing her the cookies and her coloured pencils hue line. 

When they were out of ear shot, Alex cleared her throat. 

"Kara?" 

"Yeah?" 

 "I'm pretty sure that when you picked Mia up she was, you know,  _wearing clothes_." said Alex, staring at Mia's makeshift 'dress'. 

"Oh,  _that_." Kara fixed her glasses. "Um, there was a little bit of an accident." 

"What sort of an accident?" 

 "A flour-related one. Didn't you see the pictures I've sent you? Don't worry though, I put the clothes in the washing machine."  

"I actually didn't check my phone um, because..." Alex cleared her throat. "I was uh... busy."  

Kara looked between Maggie's smirk (she and Mia were back by their side) and Alex's rosy cheeks and, understanding what " _being busy_ " meant, shivered, trying to get the image out of her mind. 

"Well, none of my trousers or shorts fit her so I just had to make a makeshift dress-" 

 " _No_." said Mia, pointedly.  

"Sorry, robe." Corrected Kara. 

Alex raised one questioning eyebrow to her sister. 

"Yeah, um, I don't know how she knows that word." 

Maggie pinched the kid's cheek playfully. 

 "Bundle or mysteries, you are." 

Mia giggled smiled proudly. 

 

- 

 

They headed back to Alex's apartment half an hour later because Maggie noticed that the kid was yawning. Mia nodded off in the car and when they arrived, Maggie asked Mia to take a quick shower and Alex had to help her change into her jammies afterwards because the kid looked like a tired rag doll and once they were done, she basically fell into a coma. 

The two women stared at the knocked-out child. 

"We should give her a healthy breakfast tomorrow to counteract with the whole lotta sugar she had today." pointed out the Detective. 

"It was a good day today, wasn't it?" asked Alex, snaking her arms around Maggie's waist. 

"Mmm, actually it was damn near perfect." answered Maggie, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck and tugging her down gently. 

They kissed softly, feeling the residual of the intense intimacy they'd had during the day. 

"I love you." whispered Alex. 

"And I love you." said Maggie, taking one of Alex's hand and guiding her to bed. They settled down and shuffled closer until the Detective's small body was spooning Alex's. 

Sometimes, when they were touching, Alex thought that there was something electric about them. Something set off, restless and wild, untamable. And then sometimes there was this silky, soft feeling... Like instead of lighting up and catching fire when they connected, they relaxed completely, as if coming home after a long journey, and found within themselves a part of them that wasn't tainted by what they experienced in the world and on their jobs. Something truly innocent, unmarred. And every so often, instead of electricity, they just connected to each other through those parts. Like the universe knew that Alex Danvers and Maggie Sawyer were good humans separately, but together they made each other better. She knew Maggie would blush and call her a nerd if she ever said that to her.

 _'I guess I truly am getting soft on you, Sawyer.'_ , she thought, smiling at the arm draped across her midriff.

Alex shook herself off from her epiphany and unlocked her phone to set her alarm for the next day and saw a picture of a lot of coloured pencils organised by their hue. 

She frowned at the text. It was from Kara and it simply said " **Teach Mia how to draw**." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "Pop" by *NSYNC.
> 
> Next chapter won't move the story forward because it's actually going to happen simultaneously as this one but I do believe ya'll will appreciate learning how " _busy_ " Alex and Maggie were... *wink, wink*
> 
> Kara and Mia's scene with the flower was my favourite one to write this chapter. What's your favourite moment so far?
> 
> Mia's speech being written phonetically was there to show how Kara heard the kid's British accent before Lena pointed out to her.
> 
> As always, comments are deeply appreciated and thoroughly begged but if you want to talk to me on tumblr, ask any questions or tell me about those mouthwatering cookies your mate gave you, please drop by! I'm always there:
> 
> UPDATE:  
> Because I have way too much time on my hands and because I like music I made a Spotify playlist with all the songs featured in this fic. Not only Title songs but all the ones that are mentioned or used on the story. If yall wanna give it a listen:  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/12145297170/playlist/44fQosAxDwVN1AYFF2DcJu
> 
>  
> 
> UPDATE 2:  
> I learnt how to gif! Here's my supergirl gifsets tag if you want to check it out:  
> http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com/tagged/supergirledit

**Author's Note:**

> You can always reach my lonely gay ass on my blog http://my-flourish-and-blotts.tumblr.com and talk to me about anything.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Everglow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13971573) by [my_flourish_and_blotts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_flourish_and_blotts/pseuds/my_flourish_and_blotts)
  * [I Gotta Say, It's Hard To Be Brave When You're Alone In The Dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14006418) by [my_flourish_and_blotts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_flourish_and_blotts/pseuds/my_flourish_and_blotts)




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